Pacific community urged to get vaccinated against deadly disease as protection rates drop dangerously

Miss Pacific Islands and former Miss Samoa Fonoifafo McFarland-Seumanu joined the nationwide Measles Vaccination Campaign when measles spread in Samoa in 2019 and early 2020. Photo / UNICEF

Children in some of our most vulnerable communities are not being vaccinated against measles - something a Pasifika health expert says needs to be fixed fast in a bid to prevent a mini epidemic.

Pasifika GP Network chairman Dr Apisalome Talemaitoga says some areas in South Auckland are sitting as low as 30 per cent vaccination rates against measles, mumps and rubella.

That percentage of people with an MMR shot needs to be much higher in order to protect the community - and those booster vaccinations need to be more accessible to Māori and Pasifika, in particular.

"We want to avoid another mini epidemic," he said.

"This is another virus that is very infectious - it's very easy to catch.

"If you haven't got the booster and your immunity is waning, you will actually have a very high risk of catching it and spreading it to other people."

Talemaitoga is a well-known figure in the South Auckland and Pacific community around the region; having helped hugely in the Pasefika response during the Covid-19 outbreak.

"Before the pandemic, specific measles vaccination rates for young children were in the high 80s and 90s.

"I think we should aim for the mid 90s to at least get boosters into the 15 to 30-year-old population."

Pacific GP Dr Api Talemaitoga. Photo / Dean Purcell

Talemaitoga said he fears that waning vaccination rates could echo the measles outbreak of 2019 - where the virus ran rampant in South Auckland.

In Samoa, the deadly disease claimed 83 lives - the majority of them being young children and babies.

The fight against measles proved difficult in the island nation as many locals remained fearful about getting their children vaccinated; after two 1-year-old babies died in 2018 after receiving MMR shots at a local hospital in Savaii.

The vaccinations were later found to have been incorrectly prepared by nursing staff.

As a result of those deaths, the Samoan Government put a hold on its vaccination programme for children for several months.

"The same population that suffered in 2019 with the measles outbreak are still vulnerable," Talemaitoga said.

"We haven't learned that we need to make the vaccination events appropriate for the specific communities."

Reaching out to the community in different ways

The South Auckland GP is calling for a government-led and multi-agency approach to raise awareness.

"We should think about other settings like church groups, sports clubs and going along to their workplaces.

"Even packaging factories in South Auckland where a lot of young people might work, could be an option," Talemaitoga said.

"We should think about other settings as well, like pharmacies, to see if we can opportunistically vaccinate.

He said primary care providers will need to work together with the community to see booster uptake.

"A lot of our young people don't necessarily go and see their doctors. So there's no real reason to get their measles booster."

Talemaitoga says while Covid vaccinations have been the main focus over recent years, he would like to see the MMR vaccines take priority now.

"This is one way of protecting yourself and your families by getting the MMR booster."