The Senior Māori Advisor at the Immunisation Advisory Centre (IMAC) says there are accessibility concerns amid a declared pertussis/whooping cough epidemic in New Zealand, which poses the greatest risk to babies.
Health New Zealand has reported 263 cases in the past month, with a national response underway as experts emphasize immunisation to protect vulnerable pēpi, especially among rural, Māori, and Pasifika communities.
Dr Mamaeroa David says Starship Hospital has the only pediatric intensive care unit in the country, so they are developing a triage system to get high-risk pēpi and tamariki to Auckland as soon as possible.
“Our poor whānau are being uplifted from wherever they are in the country to Starship Hospital so that those babies hopefully can get through the worst of the Pertussis illness,” says David.
Whooping cough vaccinations are free for hapū māmā in their second trimester and kids at age 11.
