MMR update to vaccine providers

MMR update to vaccine providers As you know, the risk of measles this winter is greater than other years. Reasons for this include our open borders, reduced immunity caused by our two-year protective bubble, and decreasing childhood immunisation rates. The BOPDHB’s immunisation team continue to work with you to lift vaccination rates from childhood to adulthood for MMR, COVID-19 and flu. Your role in delivering vaccinations to our communities in all corners of our rohe (region) is vital in protecting our collective health.

You may have heard of plans for a national campaign to increase MMR vaccine uptake for tamariki aged 0-5 years, with children aged 15 months–4 years identified as the largest cohort not vaccinated against measles. This campaign will be led by the Ministry of Health’s National Immunisation Programme team, and we’ll likely see advertising in all the usual ways – social media, radio, print, and so on. Parents will be encouraged to immunise their children at GPs, hauora providers, participating pharmacies and DHB vaccination clinics (including community providers). The Ministry of Health MMR web content can be found here. You can access the Ministry’s free MMR, COVID-19 and flu information and collateral for your use here.

There won’t be a nationally led catch-up campaign for second doses for 16–32-year-olds. But, as you know, all people aged 16-50 years (born after 1969) can have two free doses of the MMR vaccine, and this is encouraged through GPs, pharmacies, and DHB vaccination clinics. The second dose is encouraged even if a client isn’t sure whether they’ve had one or two doses and there is no clinical risk of having an extra dose.

At all BOPDHB vaccination clinics, our staff offer clients all of these vaccinations at once and to all generations of whānau to make immunisation easy and convenient. We find this opportunistic vaccination approach effective and encourage you and your teams to do the same. This is especially easy when a parent brings their child in for a paediatric MMR vaccine, and is likely to be eligible for a free MMR vaccine themselves. Sometimes people remain unaware that they’re not fully protected or eligible, and a prompt from you and your team is all it takes.

To enable this opportunistic vaccination approach, vaccine stock is required to be constantly on hand and ready to be drawn up and we are keen to support you with this. Please contact Donna Gardiner via donna.gardiner@bopdhb.govt.nz or 021 241 7749, or Paul Spence via paul.spence@bopdhb.govt.nz or 027 704 7254 (weekdays only) for COVID-19 vaccine stock requests or queries. Contact your usual vaccine supplier for MMR or flu stock requests.

As always, thank you for your critical role in improving health outcomes for our communities and whānau. If you have any pātai (questions), you can always reach out.