Luis Alvarez/Getty Images
Luis Alvarez/Getty Images
Confusion over children’s immunisation status has prompted Waikato District Health Board to hold mobile clinics in Cambridge.
Parents of 3-5 year olds are being urged to check their child’s status.
Most when they are told their children need immunising, are unaware because the Well Child Tamariki Ora My Health Book given to parents prior to October 2020 shows the second dose is due at four years old.
The mobile clinic is at the Scouts and Cub Hall in Thompson Street until tomorrow from 10am to 3pm. Vaccinators have access to the National Immunisation Register and can check whether a child is eligible as part of the catch-up campaign for measle, mumps and rubella (MMR).
The clinics also offer free flu immunisations for those eligible.
Dr Richard Hoskins, Waikato DHB medical officer of health says it is understandable parents are confused about their children’s immunisation status.
There is generally a pronounced drop in childhood immunisation coverage since 2020 across the country, due in part to the focus on Covid-19 and the reduced prevalence of serious childhood illnesses while the borders were closed.
There is also an ongoing campaign to get teenagers and young adults fully immunised against measles as many 17-32 year-olds, born after January 1, 1969, have missed one or both recommended doses of MMR vaccine.
