North Shore Times (New Zealand)
Health board backs newborn vaccines
The Waitemata District Health Board has taken a public stand on the safety of childhood vaccinations.
DHB staff who work to implement immunisations presented a report on the matter at a meeting of the board on Wednesday.
They asked the DHB to endorse a statement underlining the safety of immunisations, and encouraging and supporting their use.
Dr Timothy Jellyman, a community paediatrician, said the DHB backing the statement was about ‘‘getting our house in order’’ and advocating for the best treatment for kids.
‘‘I know immunisations work effectively and safely with the body’s natural systems, to stimulate the body’s natural systems,’’ he told the board.
‘‘There are serious diseases we are protecting against.’’
In 2012, a national health target was set for 95 per cent of eightmonth-olds to be fully immunised.
A child considered fully immunised has received inoculations against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, polio, hepatitis B, haemophilus influenza and pneumococcal diseases.
The DHB achieved the target for the first time in 2015, but the general level of immunisation in the area is around 92 to 93 per cent. Between January and March of this year, the level sat at 91.7 per cent.
The report to the DHB cited data from the Immunisation Advisory Centre which showed declining rates of immunisation in the Waitemata area, numbers lower than the national average.
This was due in part, the report said, to ‘‘a false association between the MMR vaccine and autism’’ from a debunked medical journal article published in 1998, and the subsequent growing vaccination ‘‘hesitancy’’.
The resolution to endorse the statement was passed unanimously by the board.
‘‘I actually think our challenges around these communicable disease is not getting easier, it’s getting tougher,’’ board chair Dr Lester Levy said, in response to the vote.
The movement of numerous people through Auckland, which Levy called ‘‘ the gateway to New Zealand’’, presented one of those challenges.
He also said communication with whanau could be improved.
Levy said the DHB’s responsibility was to encourage immunisations, but not to enforce them.