Hawke's Bay babies are now eligible for funded vaccination against rotavirus gastroenteritis caused by the rotavirus infection.
Pharmac has funded RotaTeq and added it to the immunisation schedule starting today. An oral vaccine, it is squirted into the baby's mouth. It helps prevent diarrhoea and vomiting caused by rotavirus infection.
Population Health director Caroline McElnay said this was great news for babies and their parents given the vaccine's reputation for reducing hospitalisations and work days lost by parents.
In one of the largest vaccine trials in history, involving 68,000 infants, the vaccine is said to have reduced the rate of hospitalisations and emergency department visits by 94 per cent and cut the number of guardian work days lost by 86 per cent.
It is already available in 100 countries, and more than 109 million doses have been distributed worldwide.