September 16, 2019
New shipment increases measles vaccine cover
A large shipment of measles vaccine has arrived and will be distributed on Thursday, with half going to south Auckland which is at the centre of the outbreak.
The number of cases of measles is now over 1000, and 54,000 doses of the MMR vaccine have been given out this month alone, with many GP practices running out.
South Auckland doctor David Jensen says the vaccine needs to go to those most at risk, mostly Māori and Pacific children and adults, and not necessarily to those who speak the loudest.
"I'm really confident the ministry is stepping through that really properly, really sensibly. They're thinking about where the vaccine needs to go and our people, South Auckland, we're confident we're getting the measles vaccine into the right places so our babies are going to get vaccinated and our young adults, 15 to 29, if they have missed out, we're going to have vaccines in the right places for them so that they can get vaccinated," Dr Jansen says.
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