Health

NZ's measles vaccination rate dangerously low - study

08:25 am on 14 April 2023

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A new study published today shows how dangerously close Aotearoa New Zealand is to a national measles outbreak because of low immunisation rates in children.

The Otago University research, published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, show  a decline in the number of children receiving the first vaccine at 12-months old is declining across the country and is now less than 90-percent in six locations - Bay of Plenty, Lakes, Northland, Tai Rāwhiti, West Coast and Whanganui

Lead researcher Dr Nienke Hagedoorn says a nationwide catch-up immunisation programme is urgently needed.