February 8 2022
A million people due to get booster shots will begin receiving text message or email alerts from today, as PM Jacinda Ardern promised $400,000 to rural communities in her post-Cabinet press conference.
A quarter of a million extra flu vaccines will be made available for New Zealanders as the Government plans to protect vulnerable communities this winter.
Health Minister Andrew Little said this means up to two million New Zealanders will be eligible for a free flu vaccination this year.
"The efforts of the team of five million have helped prevent our hospitals from becoming overwhelmed with Covid-19.
"Now, as we prepare to reconnect to the world, we can expect to see more seasonal flu in New Zealand. Vaccinating more people from the flu will save lives, preserve capacity in our hospitals, and is a part of our plan to get through the Covid-19 pandemic," Little said.
Little said the flu vaccine can be safely administered at the same time as the Covid-19 vaccine, whether it be a booster shot or paediatric vaccine.
Professor Peter McIntyre from the Immunisation Advisory Centre said the flu hasn't spread much in the past two winters, but overseas situations show the flu may return this winter.
"We could see flu return if not this winter then certainly the next winter so I guess this is an insurance policy against potentially having flu and Omicron to deal with at the same time."
McIntyre said high booster and flu vaccine rates in the over-50 age group will help protect hospitals.
University Associate Professor Helen Petousis-Harris, is a world-renowned expert in vaccine effectiveness and safety. Photo / Supplied
Vaccine expert Helen Petousis-Harris said a simultaneous Covid-19 and flu outbreak would create a "double whammy" for hospitals across the country.
"If we go right back to the beginning of the pandemic there was the concern about flu but we didn't we locked down and the flu didn't get a look in.
"But if we are moving around etcetera you know the more opportunity it [the flu] is going to have," she said.
Helen Petousis-Harris said it is hard to predict what the flu will look like this year but says widening the eligibility for the flu vaccine will allow the country to be prepared.
"One of the things we don't know is when flu returns given the fact that no one has been really experiencing [it] over the past few years, could younger people be a bit more susceptible to nasty flu," he said.
Currently, flu vaccinations are free for pregnant women, the over 65s, and people who have certain medical conditions.
Clinical experts at the Ministry of Health and Pharmac are updating the eligibility criteria for free flu vaccination with a focus on reducing the age of eligibility for at-risk populations.
Little said it is important to continue protecting those who are vulnerable.
This flu vaccine campaign will run alongside wider paediatric vaccination campaigns.
