Authorised vaccinator Manya Watene is one of the authorised nurses running the Ngati Hine Health Trust immunisation clinic in Kawakawa. Photo / Michael Cunningham
Authorised vaccinator Manya Watene is one of the authorised nurses running the Ngati Hine Health Trust immunisation clinic in Kawakawa. Photo / Michael Cunningham
The Ministry of Health has assured Northlanders there will be adequate flu vaccines when vaccination for the general public starts in just under two weeks.
People across the region have taken to social media to vent their frustration at a lack of vaccines at their GP clinics but the ministry said the flu season did not start until late May/early June.
The ministry said the spread of flu would be reduced this year with the border shut and all the precautions the Government was taking to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
"So far this season, more than 39,000 doses of flu vaccine have been distributed to Northland. This is already more than the 38,647 vaccines distributed to Northland across the entire influenza season last year, from March to 12 November, 2019," a spokeswoman said.
She said this year's flu vaccine campaign would be the biggest ever, with 400,000 more vaccines available nationally compared with last year.
The ministry has sent out more than a million vaccines so far this year and the focus is on the most vulnerable such as those over 65, pregnant women, and people with chronic conditions such as diabetes and blood pressure.
From April 27, the general public can book appointments for flu vaccines.
The spokeswoman said the ministry would continue to work with Northland District Health Board to ensure it has access to sufficient vaccine supply to vaccinate its priority populations.
In the mid-north, the Ngāti Hine Health Trust opened an immunisation hub on Wednesday and a coronavirus testing station last week in Kawakawa.
The trust's GP registrar, Dr Tamara Birchall, said a steady stream of people from Kawakawa and surrounding areas took advantage of the immunisation hub as they didn't have to travel far to be tested.
She said the trust was looking at running outreach flu vaccination clinics in hard-to-reach places where people had no or limited means of transportation.
"We've been running monthly pop-up clinics in these areas anyway but the upcoming clinics will be more vigilant in that people will need to stay in their cars as opposed to mass gatherings."
The areas are Pipiwai, Mangakahia, Whakapara, Russell, Motatau, Waikare and Karetu.
In Whangārei, 10 trained vaccinators at Kensington Pharmacy have been flat out vaccinating at-risk patients since March 18 and owner Shane Heswall said the immunisation campaign should run smoothly if the distribution of flu vaccines was not a problem.
Shane Heswall of Kensington Pharmacy says Northlanders access to flu vaccines shouldn't be a problem if enough was available on time.
Photo / Michael Cunningham
His pharmacy is booking people in 15-minute blocks and Heswall said 421 people had been vaccinated up until 3pm on April 15.
"The Northland DHB can authorise extra vaccines this time and one hopes the distribution side is taken care of so we don't have the same problem we had last year with a lack of flu vaccines," he said.
The ministry is asking any health provider that does not have sufficient supply for priority groups is encouraged to contact their DHB immunisation coordinator so more stock can be arranged.
