Improving vaccination rates

Dr Pat Tuohy, the Ministry of Health's chief adviser for child and youth health, says there are already a number of measures to improve immunisation rates. These include:

• contacting parents to advise when their child's overdue for a jab
• providing services to families who don't have access to a GP
• lifting the profile of immunisation through public campaigns like the Meningococcal B campaign
• using combination vaccines to reduce the number of injections that children need with each visit
• monitoring immunisation rates in local practices.

The Australian example

Doctor Diana Lennon, an expert in infectious diseases and population paediatrics, says other countries have put an "awful lot of time and money" into improving rates.

The Australians have an immunisation rate in the early nineties. Australian GPs receive bonuses if they improve coverage among their patient base. The "GP Incentive Scheme" saw the amount of practices with 90 percent vaccination coverage rise from 12 percent in 1998 to 78 percent in 2003.

Australia also uses more hard-nosed programmes. Vaccinations are part of school entry requirements. Maternity and childcare benefits are suspended if parents don't follow the national schedule - unless they register as conscientious objectors.

These schemes became possible with the creation of the Australian Childhood Immunisation Register: a computerised database that holds immunisation details of Australian children.

New Zealand created its own register in 2005 (in the midst of the Meningococcal B campaign). Our National Immunisation Register allows authorised health officials to check whether or not a child is up-to-date with their vaccines. You can opt off the register if you want.