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Latest figures show there could be an uptick in vaccination rates for childhood diseases following an entrenched downward slide that started well before Covid.
In September 2021 immunisation coverage for six-month-olds was at its lowest in ten years at just 71 percent.
And for eight-month-olds it was the lowest since records began, with the gap between Māori and non-Māori also increasing.
Tetanus, polio, hepatitis, measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox are among the free vaccines offered.
But figures for June indicate immunisation rates could be nudging back up. Medical Director of the Immunisation Advisory Centre Professor Nikki Turner talks to Lisa Owen.