Vaccine tracking system ‘old, struggling’

The national tracking system critical to safe vaccinations is too decrepit to handle a Covid-19 vaccination campaign, experts say.

Auckland University vaccinologist and associate professor Helen Petousis-Harris said the National Immunisation Register, set up in 2005, was ‘‘old and decrepit’’ and ‘‘like trying to get your Windows 95 to perform functions you require in 2020’’.

‘‘It can’t manage flu vaccines properly and it can’t manage the maternal pregnancy ones properly, so there’s no chance it will manage something like this. So that’s kind of a big deal.’’

Petousis-Harris said New Zealand was ‘‘not even a little bit’’ prepared for the logistical challenges of a national vaccination campaign.

A reliable tracking system would be critical, she said.

While the Government in

February pledged $1.4 million for a business case to rebuild the register, she feared that would not be quick enough.

Immunisation Advisory Centre national manager Loretta Roberts said the immunisation register was a fantastic tool with some great data, ‘‘but it’s old and it’s slow and it’s struggling’’.

She also questioned the timeframe for any replacement.

College of GPs medical director Bryan Betty said the register had issues with delayed information, inaccuracy and difficulties gauging whether priority groups had accessed the vaccine.

The Health Ministry failed to answer Stuff’s question about the timeframe for a new tracking system.

A spokesperson said the existing register was ‘‘a legacy system that needs to be replaced’’ and work was under way to establish a new one that could better measure vaccinations across a person’s lifespan, for the whole population.