May 08, 2023
Crash effort needed to stop measles
Te Aka Whai Ora chief medical officer Rawiri McKree Jansen warns some babies are likely to die in the coming measles outbreak.
He says the health system has dropped the ball with regard to vaccination in the past few years.
Measles is more infectious than Covid and can be more lethal.
Dr Jansen says Māori health providers have started to provide weekend vaccination events with extended hours for people to come and get their shots.
“Over Covid times it’s been hard to get your kids immunised so we’ve seen immunisation rates fall off a cliff – making appointments or two weeks before you can be seen and all that carry-on has made it really difficult for whānau. I think whānau want to protect babies. If whānau can, please get vaccinated right now,” he says.
Dr Jansen says there are already a couple of cases in Auckland, so what happens over the next couple of weeks will be critical for stemming an outbreak.