KEY POINTS:
All babies can be vaccinated for free against a type of meningitis from next year under a $68 million Government programme.
In a pre-Budget announcement, Health Minister Pete Hodgson said yesterday that the Government would add the vaccine to the national immunisation schedule, at a cost of $68 million over four years.
All babies born from January 1 next year will be eligible to receive Prevenar vaccine injections against pneumococcal disease starting from the following June.
"This is a safe, effective vaccine with a proven track record in a number of other countries," said Mr Hodgson.
"Since its introduction in the United States in 2000, invasive pneumococcal disease caused by the targeted strains has fallen 94 per cent."
His officials said the vaccine did not prevent all pneumococcal illness but it did prevent more than 80 per cent of the types children were admitted to hospital with.
Prevenar is designed to protect against infection by seven strains of pneumococcal bacteria. The bugs can cause meningitis or blood poisoning - invasive pneumococcal disease. Meningitis and blood poisoning can also be caused by meningococcal bacteria.
Auckland University's Immunisation Advisory Centre calculates that around 150 New Zealand children under 5 suffer invasive pneumococcal disease each year. Of them, about 10 would die and meningitis would cause 13 to 26 cases of permanent serious disability, like brain damage or deafness, based on Auckland and overseas data.
Rates of the invasive disease were higher in Maori and Pacific children.
Meningitis Trust general manager Fiona Colbert, whose 9-year-old son survived pneumococcal disease as a baby, welcomed the Government funding of the vaccine.
"It's fantastic news. It's a testimony to the families that have supported us in this campaign."
The trust began pressing for the vaccine last year, organising two events at Parliament involving families whose children had suffered or died from the disease. "My son had pneumococcal meningitis when he was 4 months old," said Mrs Colbert. "We are one of the very lucky families. He's come away fairly unscathed."
Mr Hodgson said vaccinating infants against the disease had also been found to reduce rates of the disease in the parents and grandparents.
The Government acknowledges the difficulty of ensuring a high uptake of the vaccine by the ethnic groups affected most by the disease.
Associate Health Minister Mita Ririnui urged Maori to use the vaccine.
