Whanganui Regional Health Network immunisation co-ordinator Nicola Metcalfe says there's no one reason why child immunisation rates have declined. Photo / Bevan Conley
Whanganui Regional Health Network immunisation co-ordinator Nicola Metcalfe says there's no one reason why child immunisation rates have declined. Photo / Bevan Conley
Vaccinations for 8-month-olds remain below pre-Covid-19 levels, and health professionals say the reasons are complex.
In the year to June 30, 82.3 per cent of 852 eligible babies in Whanganui were fully immunised.
That is a slight increase from the previous 12 months, in which 81 per cent were fully immunised.
But both are below the pre-Covid levels of 87.1 per cent full immunisation in the year to June 2019.
Whanganui Regional Health Network immunisation co-ordinator Nicola Metcalfe said the reasons for the drop were complex and could not be pinned to one thing.
There was typically about 2-4 per cent of the population that would always decline vaccinations, she said.
Mistrust in the health system from a previous negative experience could contribute to a desire not to vaccinate, as well as access to misinformation and disinformation on social media.
“With social media, it’s quite difficult to differentiate between fact and fiction.”
Access issues for people in rural communities made it more difficult for parents to get their children vaccinated due to transport and the opening hours of clinics.
Metcalfe said the influence of friends, families or partners in decision-making might lead to a child not being vaccinated.
“Covid brought vaccinations into the spotlight, so it did make people look and question more, and it’s just where they’re getting that information from that’s a worry.”
Sometimes it wasn’t a fear of vaccines, but uncertainty around a child’s reaction afterwards.
“We expect after a vaccination, a child might get a bit irritable or grumpy and need more cuddles or fluids, and some people don’t feel equipped to deal with that.”
There was no silver bullet, but a lot of work was being done behind the scenes to lift vaccination rates, Metcalfe said.
Tairanga Ora improving access to vaccinations for Māori and Pasifika children
Te Oranganui’s outreach service Tairanga Ora is boosting services for Māori and Pasifika people and patients in isolated rural locations.
Their mobile health bus travels on a monthly basis from Pipiriki to Pātea and back to Putiki.
Health services being established in rural communities and then suddenly leaving again was a reason for mistrust in vaccination services, community nurse Megan Fowlie said.
Tairanga Ora manager Brylee Tauri and community nurse Megan Fowlie can provide vaccination services from the service's mobile health bus. Photo / Bevan Conley
In Fowlie’s experience of living in Pipiriki, a lack of general practice services led to her grandparents having to travel for simple check-ups such as blood pressure.
“They’re asking us, ‘Well, how long are you actually planning to be here?’”
In the last 12-month reporting period, from July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023, of the 371 Māori babies who were eligible for their six-month vaccinations, just 55.8 per cent were fully immunised.
“All of a sudden since Covid, a lot of people have dropped off and they don’t want their kids immunised anymore.”
Tairanga Ora manager Brylee Tauri said part of that shift was a movement towards the practices of tīpuna, by using natural remedies or Rongoā Māori.
“We’ve found that a lot of our whānau since Covid have absolutely lost their trust in the health system, and we’ve spent the better part of a year re-educating our whānau.”
But there is also ongoing resistance due to perceptions of a lack of research being done for the Covid vaccine, and resentment towards the vaccine mandates. Tauri said these attitudes have carried over to mistrust of other vaccines.
