Pharmac, the Government drug-buying agency, previously rejected advice to include the chicken pox vaccine Varicella on the schedule, which Petousis-Harris said was because of cost.
"If you imagine clinical trials with 30,000 people involved, the mind boggles at the cost."
But she said placing the vaccine on the schedule would greatly reduce the risk to the 90 per cent of children who contract chicken pox. New Zealand has about 50,000 cases a year.
"You could potentially eradicate chicken pox if the vaccine was on the schedule," Petousis-Harris said.
Like many New Zealand parents, Auckland mother Rachael Coles thought of chicken pox as a relatively harmless, if unpleasant, illness that most children contracted.
However, two years ago she learned it was far worse when her then 4-year-old daughter Lila caught it. About 24 hours after Lila was diagnosed, her face swelled "like a balloon" and she couldn't open her eyes, Coles said.
"It was horrible. She lost so much weight and she was so weak she couldn't even walk."
Lila spent six nights in hospital and still carries scars from the illness.
"I'm a real advocate of getting immunised now," Coles said. "I'd hate for anyone to go through what Lila did."
The human papillomavirus vaccine is on the schedule for girls, essentially to prevent cervical cancer. Petousis-Harris said HPV caused a wide range of other cancers and should be made available free for boys, too.
Another illness that could be effectively tackled through free vaccination was meningococcal C, a bacterial infection that can lead to deadly meningitis and septicaemia. About 33 cases a year are reported in New Zealand.
"Countries that have used the vaccine have virtually eradicated it," she said.
Pharmac's director of operations, Sarah Fitt, said the organisation continued to seek advice on the list of nationally funded vaccinations.
"Further funding for chicken pox vaccine remains a possibility," she said. Pharmac had considered funding the HPV vaccine for boys and it would remain a "funding option" in the future. It had not received a recommendation for funding the meningococcal vaccine but was "continuing to conduct work in this area".
Last week, Prime Minister John Key ruled out making immunisation a condition of receiving the benefit.
Getting your jabs - the National Immunisation Schedule
6 weeks
• Rotavirus
• Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis/Polio/Hepatitis B/Haemophilus influenzae type b
• Pneumococcal
3 months
• Rotavirus
• Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis/Polio/Hepatitis B/Haemophilus influenzae type b
• Pneumococcal
5 months
• Rotavirus
• Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis/Polio/Hepatitis B/Haemophilus influenzae type b
• Pneumococcal
15 months
• Haemophilus influenzae type b
• Measles/Mumps/Rubella
• Pneumococcal
4 years
• Diphtheria/Tetanus/Pertussis/Polio
• Measles/Mumps/Rubella
11 years
• Tetanus/Diphtheria/Pertussis
12 years
• Human papillomavirus (girls only; three doses given over six months).
45 years
• Diphtheria/Tetanus
65 years
• Diphtheria/Tetanus
• Influenza (one Injection (annually)
• More information can be found here.
Unfunded vaccines (except for high-risk groups)
• HPV: $170-$220 a dose (need three)
• Meningococcal C: $70- $120 a dose (need up to three)
• Chicken pox: $80-$130 a dose(need up to two)
• Influenza: $30-$50 (Nine years and older, one dose annually; under-nines might need two doses)
• Prices vary, doctor's fee may be additional. Vaccines are prescription medicines. Talk to your doctor or nurse about the benefits or any risks.
