Most Northland kids get vaccine

Most Northland children under the age of five have received their first meningococcal B vaccination.

In total, about 7700 children, or 70 per cent of Northland's children aged five years and under have had their first vaccination since the programme was launched four months ago.

Northland Health project manager Jacqui Westren was confident the project would achieve a 90 per cent coverage rate.

"I think the rates will continue to rise, I don't have any doubt about that."

Northland is a high risk area for meningococcal B. Twenty-two people have been diagnosed with the disease in 2004. Since 1991, 320 people have had the disease and 12 have died.

The Northland programme is part of a national $200 million vaccination programme targeting more than a million New Zealanders.

The programme is planned to combat the meningococcal B epidemic which has caused numerous deaths in New Zealand since the early 1990s.

Ms Westren said it was important that parents ensured their children received the three jabs required to gain protection from the deadly disease.

"It's absolutely essential that people who have committed to the programme come back for the second and third vaccination," she said.

"We do know from Counties-Manukau (the first area to get the vaccine) that there is a drop-off in the third vaccination and our outreach programme will be busy at that time."

Families who had not made contact with their doctor were now being followed up by outreach teams across Northland.

The vaccination campaign would move into schools on the first day of term two, on May 3.

Consent forms had been sent out to parents and there had already been a good response to the programme, she said.

- NORTHERN ADVOCATE (WHANGAREI)