Whanganui faces declining immunisations rates in six-month old babies. Photo / Whanganui Chronicle
Whanganui faces declining immunisations rates in six-month old babies. Photo / Whanganui Chronicle
Whanganui District Health Board says "anti-vaxx propaganda" is behind some infants not being immunised and it is putting children's health at risk.
It comes on the back of a report by the Ministry of Health which shows Whanganui's immunisation rates, although slightly up on four years ago, still sit below a declining national average.
WDHB has been ranked seventh of New Zealand's 20 DHBs in vaccination rates with just 72.4 per cent of six-month-old babies vaccinated in Whanganui, compared with the national average of 77 per cent as of March 2019.
But that is an increase of 1.6 per cent against a national average decline of 4.5 per cent since rates peaked in December 2015.
Despite the slight overall increase in Whanganui's immunisation rates for 6-month-old babies, there has been marked decrease among babies living in the least deprived areas (deprivation levels 1-2).
The largest drop was that of babies living in deprivation level 1-2 which stood at 77.8 per cent in December 2015 and dropped to 65 per cent in March 2019.
"A drop in infant immunisation coverage below 90 per cent puts children at risk of vaccine-preventable disease and pertussis and measles in particular," the Ministry of Health said.
The Whanganui DHB has blamed anti-vaxx propaganda for some infants not being immunised. Photo / Mark Mitchell
National data showed that, as of March this year, the "equity gap" between Maori or poor children and the general population was at its widest since 2012.
But immunisation rates for Maori babies in Whanganui buck the trend and are up 6.3 per cent from December 2015 to March 2019.
In Whanganui, the largest drop within ethnic groups was 6.4 per cent among New Zealand European babies.
In December 2015, 85.1 per cent of Pakeha babies were immunised compared with March 2019 when 78.7 per cent were immunised.
In a written statement the Whanganui District Health Board said the statistics were something it was acutely aware of.
For the Whanganui region, in the April-to-June quarter, vaccinations for 13 8-month-old babies were declined by parents or guardians.
"We largely attribute this to anti-vaxx propaganda," the statement said. "People are believing things they read on social media and going to unreliable online sources. By declining immunisation, they are putting their children's health at risk. And they are putting others at risk as a 90 per cent vaccination rate is needed to protect the community as a whole."
The DHB said it would continue to work with other health providers to try to ensure all children are fully immunised.
"In conjunction with the Whanganui Regional Health Network and other health providers, the DHB has run a longstanding campaign to get infants immunised because we understand how fundamentally important it is," the statement said. "And we continue to urge parents, caregivers and whanau to make sure the infants are up to date with vaccinations."
But Dr Nikki Turner, director of the Immunisation Advisory Centre said people had got carried away with the anti-vaxx impact.
"Vaccine hesitancy has always been with us in New Zealand. That isn't changing. What is changing is our society, how hard it is for families to access care, and the impact of poverty," Turner said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health said its immunisation team was working to understand local and national issues and implement solutions.
• Asian: 66.7 per cent in December 2015, up to 90 per cent in March 2019 • Maori: 59.3 per cent in December 2015, up to 65.6 per cent in March 2019 • New Zealand European: 85.1 per cent in December 2015, down to 78.7 per cent in March 2019 • Pacific: 71.4 per cent in December 2015, up to 81.2 per cent in March 2019 • Other: 70.8 per cent in December 2015, down to 50 per cent in March 2019 • Total: 70.8 per cent in December 2015, up to 72.4 per cent in March 2019 -Source: Ministry of Health
