8. DARIEN FENTON (Labour) Link to this
to the Minister of Health
What recent investment has been made into the health of our children?
Hon JIM ANDERTON (Acting Minister of Health) Link to this
The Minister of Health has recently announced that $68 million over 4 years will be invested in the fight against pneumococcal meningitis with the vaccine Prevnar being added to our children’s immunisation schedule.
Not surprisingly, Fiona Colbert, the manager of the Meningitis Trust, said: “ ‘This is a proven life-saver … We applaud the government for its support and that it has recognised the benefits of this vaccine. This is a major step forward for the health of our children.’ ”
Barbara StewartWould the Minister concede that his statement about pneumococcal vaccine that “This type of ‘herd protection’ may result in direct medical savings in terms of reduced hospital stays and treatment costs,” could apply equally well to Gardasil, and can we expect some action on that front; if not, why not?
As someone who has come through a fair few epidemics in the history of New Zealand, I can say that immunisation is clearly a very beneficial programme for all New Zealanders, and the more of this kind of protection our young people can get, the better it will be. I am sure the Government is aware of that, and the Minister will make progress just as soon as he possibly can.
Dr Jackie BlueWhat is the Government’s target immunisation rate for Prevnar, and how confident is he that that is achievable, when our current national vaccination rate is lower than that of Niue, Tonga, Samoa, the Cook Islands, Fiji, and most of the Western World?
I cannot give the member the exact date of that, but I will check it out and make sure that I can supply her with the information. Let me just say that in terms of comparing vaccination rates, the vaccination rates in New Zealand during the term of the previous National Government were incredibly low—much lower than they are now—and this Government has made enormous progress and invested vast sums of money, which National previously never even contemplated. New Zealand’s children are much safer under the Labour Government and its support parties than they ever were when National was in power.