April 16, 2024
Flu shots for pakeke value for money
The Paediatric Society says the government is making decisions on immunisation based on ideology rather than evidence.
Covid-related funding that was used to give free influenza vaccine to children under 12 and Maori and Pasifika aged 55 to 64 has lapsed, and this year only people aged over 65 can get free jabs.
Society president Owen Sinclair says while the funding was temporary, it proved to be an extremely effective use of public funds and should have been made permanent because of the risk and severity of influenza on those population groups.
“The reason we have vaccines and all this sort of stuff is because they save you massive amounts of money. And it really is an investment in both the health of our communities and the health system to get us working. And to say that that immunisation costs you money is just ridiculous – immunisation saves you money,” Dr Sinclair says.