Diseases risk as child immunisation falls

A rise in cases of preventable diseases is possible due to a sudden fall in childhood vaccinations, a report from the children’s commissioner has warned.

Children’s Commissioner Judge Frances Eivers announced the 2022 Child Poverty Monitor report yesterday.

During the pandemic, lockdowns not only prevented the spread of Covid-19, but also other infectious diseases.

While the nation’s attention was focused on Covid-19, with a huge effort to vaccinate against it, all those other diseases – some entirely preventable thanks to vaccination – didn’t attract the same attention. And vaccination rates have fallen.

The Children’s Commission and experts in public health are now warning New Zealand could see a spike in entirely preventable disease and hospitalisation due to a fall in childhood vaccinations.

The Child Poverty Monitor 2022 report details a significant fall in childhood immunisation since 2019.

In two years between July 2020 and July 2022, the national immunisation rate for 2-year-olds dropped about 10%, from above 90% to 83%.

The report warned of ‘‘an urgent need’’ to vaccination children, and highlighted disparities between Ma¯ori and Pasifika in accessing immunisation.

Otago University public health physician Dr Mavis Duncanson, who worked on the report, said inequitable access to healthcare was a national concern.

‘‘We should all be concerned that immunisation rates have fallen so low that mokopuna are at risk of vaccine-preventable diseases,’’ she said. ‘‘Current systems have left pe¯pi Ma¯ori even further behind with just 72% fully vaccinated at age eight months – down from 77%.’’

As with previous reports, the Child Poverty Monitor confirmed 11% of children are currently living in material hardship. That means they’re going without things that most people consider to be essential.

But some communities are in greater need.

The report estimated a quarter of Pasifika children face material hardship. For Ma¯ori, one in five tamariki were experiencing material hardship. Children with disabilities were also more likely to live with material hardship, at a rate of one in five.

Eivers said that without targeted support for disabled, Pasifika and Ma¯ori families, this generation would likely struggle to get out of poverty and the cycle could continue.

‘‘This is not fair and New Zealand must do better.’’