Fear of repeat sends demand for anti-flu jabs soaring

Demand for influenza vaccination is breaking records. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

Demand for influenza vaccination is breaking records as people seek medical protection from the disease after last year's epidemic.

The Ministry of Health has supplied more than 800,000 doses of flu vaccine to doctors this flu season under the free vaccination programme, which runs until June 30.

This is more than were supplied during the entire 2008 season and about 100,000 - 14 per cent - more than at this point in last year's flu season.

It is hoped this will help reduce the impact of a second wave of influenza.

The epidemic is expected to return this autumn and winter, although so far only five cases have been confirmed this year.

But vaccination uptake is patchy. It is particularly low in Counties Manukau, which had the highest rate of influenza-like illness throughout the summer, although the rate was far less than during the epidemic.

The director of research at Auckland University's immunisation advisory centre, Helen Petousis-Harris, said yesterday preliminary figures indicated 9 per cent of the population had received the flu vaccine in Counties Manukau, compared with 16 per cent in the central Auckland health district.

Counties Manukau is a district of high Pacific and Maori population.

Last year, Pacific children under five years of age were about 17 times more likely than European children to be hospitalised as a result of the flu epidemic, she said.

"Maori children were also disproportionately affected - six times higher. Therefore they are extremely important groups to target with immunisation."

Counties Manukau District Health Board chief medical officer Dr Don Mackie said the area's higher than average rate of influenza-like illness did not necessarily mean there was a lot of summer-time flu there.

It more likely reflected respiratory disease of various kinds.

"There will be sporadic flu from time to time. As with most infectious diseases, we tend to see more of it here than other places. It's related to some of the socio-economic factors, particularly housing and housing density - large numbers in overcrowded places."

The ministry pays for the vaccination of people 65 or older, and those over six months old with any of a range of chronic diseases, the severely obese, pregnant women and children over 6 months and under 5 years who live in areas of high deprivation.

But after an unexpectedly high number of fever-related seizures in young children following injections with the Fluvax brand in Western Australia, the New Zealand ministry has told doctors to stop giving that vaccine to that age group.

Local Fluvax supplies are said to be low, and the ministry has urged the use of the Vaxigrip brand for pre-schoolers.

All supplies in New Zealand are low after disruptions in delivery caused by the volcanic ash cloud in Europe. Some delays in obtaining vaccination appointments with GPs are expected this week. The next delivery is due from France today.

HOW MUCH FLU
During the peak week of the influenza epidemic, last July, 280 people went to GPs with flu-like illness for every 100,000 patients.

The rate for all of last month per 100,000 patients:

76 - Counties Manukau, the highest nationally
5 - Waitemata
9 - Auckland
8 - Northland
1 - Waikato