KEY POINTS:
The government is to spend $68 million over the next four years for a life-saving vaccine for all New Zealand children.
The Meningitis Trust said today that after a year of hard work, the Ministry of Health had agreed for Prevenar vaccine to be available from June next year.
General manager Fiona Colbert said that Health Minister Pete Hodgson today agreed to put the pneumococcal vaccine on the free immunisation schedule for 2008.
"The vaccine gives children the best available defence against the deadly but preventable pneumococcal disease.
"This is a proven life-saver, and we applaud the government for its support and for recognising the benefits of this vaccine."
It was a major step forward for the health of NZ children, Mrs Colbert said.
"Every year over 500 New Zealanders, many of whom are children, fall victim to invasive pneumococcal disease, a silent disease that can kill or cause devastating brain injury."
Auckland studies found nearly 2 of every 1000 children under 2 years old were hospitalised with invasive pneumococcal disease. For Maori and Pacific children the rate was slightly higher with nearly 3 of 1000 children under 2 years old hospitalised.
Mrs Colbert said that by World Health Organisation standards that was an epidemic.
The WHO estimates that 1.6 million people, including one million young children, die of this disease every year. Pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV-7) was added to the routine childhood immunisation programmes in the USA in 2000, Australia in 2005 and in the UK in 2006.
"In those countries, the disease has been significantly reduced," Mrs Colbert said.
Pneumococcal infections are a leading cause of meningitis, bacteraemia, pneumonia and bacterial otitis media -- middle ear infection.
The Government has announced it will spend $68 million over the next four years to fund Prevenar vaccine, and add it to the National Immunisation Schedule.
"Last year I met some of the parents and children who have endured this terrible disease, " Mr Hodgson said.
"While no vaccine can offer 100 percent guarantee, vaccination is our best chance to prevent illness, disability or death in our young."
- NZPA
