KATE NEWTON
Fading memories of how severe some childhood illnesses can be is one of the main reasons people reject immunisation, an infectious diseases expert says. Doctors and health officials are urging parents with questions or concerns about vaccination to talk to their GP about it during National Immunisation Week, which ends this Friday. New Zealand's rate of childhood immunisation has improved in the past few years to 88 per cent of two-year-olds being fully vaccinated, but it still ranks below most other OECD countries. Wellington Hospital infectious diseases specialist Tim Blackmore said one of the biggest myths about immunisation was that diseases such as measles and influenza were mild and not worth protecting people against. "We had some measles cases in the Auckland region some months back and the [public] response was, `So what?' But people forget that measles was one of the most common causes of blindness and lung disease – kids get really, really sick with it." Even chicken pox – which is not on New Zealand's immunisation schedule – could cause upheaval despite its usually minor symptoms.
Fading memories of how severe some childhood illnesses can be is one of the main reasons people reject immunisation, an infectious diseases expert says. Doctors and health officials are urging parents with questions or concerns about vaccination to talk to their GP about it during National Immunisation Week, which ends this Friday. New Zealand's rate of childhood immunisation has improved in the past few years to 88 per cent of two-year-olds being fully vaccinated, but it still ranks below most other OECD countries. Wellington Hospital infectious diseases specialist Tim Blackmore said one of the biggest myths about immunisation was that diseases such as measles and influenza were mild and not worth protecting people against. "We had some measles cases in the Auckland region some months back and the [public] response was, `So what?' But people forget that measles was one of the most common causes of blindness and lung disease – kids get really, really sick with it." Even chicken pox – which is not on New Zealand's immunisation schedule – could cause upheaval despite its usually minor symptoms.
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