Health professionals plead with parents to vaccinate children against flu

Parents are being urged to immunise their children against flu amid an upsurge in children sick with influenza-like illnesses.

Dr Jin Russell who works at Starship is seeing a lot of children in hospital with flu.

“What we’re seeing on our paediatric hospital ward is lots of children coming in sick from influenza.

"A lot of these children have lower immunity than they would otherwise, because of a successful Covid-19 strategy where we eliminated flu and have had the borders closed for two years.”

She is pleading with parents to take up the offer of a free flu vaccine for those aged three to twelve.

Yesterday, the Health Minister Andrew Little extended the free flu vaccine to children under 12 and people with serious mental health conditions and addictions.

But cost of getting a flu shot might be a problem for some this winter as they grapple with the high cost of living crisis.

Dr Api Talemaitoga says it would be great if everyone got it for free but the government had to draw a line somewhere.

He says some people might have to miss out on a free-funded flu shot this year.

“They’re dealing with Covid-19 and the pandemic and then there’s all the other winter illnesses, the respiratory syncytial (RSV) virus, the measles vaccination catch-up, and of course the influenza vaccine,” says Talemaitoga.

He says health officials are trying to get “a bigger bang for their buck” by making it freely available to those most at risk.

He those who are struggling to afford it should talk to their doctor about other ways of making it free.

Dr Talemaitoga's Cavendish Drive clinic provides free flu vaccine for those most at risk, for everyone else it is $15 dollars per injection.

Pharmac - the government agency that decides which medicines and related products are funded - confirmed in March the cost of the flu vaccine will increase by $2 per vaccine, the first increase since 2008.

Pharmac’s Director of Operations Lisa Williams says the increase in price would mean vaccinators will pay a higher purchase price but would be reimbursed when vaccinating someone who’s entitled to a funded flu vaccine.

“But when vaccinating private patients with the Afluria Quad or Afluria Quad Junior flu vaccination they’re likely to pass that cost on.”

The number of people in hospital because of severe acute respiratory infection has been high all year. Influenza-like illness related calls to Healthline have exceeded historical rates for nearly all district health boards this month.