[kall]

New Zealand launches mass vaccination program to combat meningitis outbreak


Canadian Press

Wednesday, July 07, 2004
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WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - New Zealand will launch a mass immunization program next month, targeting 1.5 million young people in a bid to combat a meningitis B outbreak which has killed more than 200 people in the past 13 years.

Announcing the mass inoculation, Health Minister Annette King said Wednesday that at least 90 per cent of all people under the age of 20 will be vaccinated, starting in the high-risk poorer outer suburbs of Auckland, the nation's biggest city.

This program "shows that a small country can proactively respond to a serious public health issue caused by a terrible disease," King said in a statement.

In January 2002, King announced a 200 million New Zealand dollar ($173 Cdn) project to develop a specific vaccine to combat New Zealand's strain of the meningococcal meningitis B bacterium.

The disease has killed 220 New Zealanders and affected thousands of other young people since it began in 1991.

"The epidemic has shown no signs of abating, but now the vaccine has received approval we can begin to fight back," King said.

So, are you pro-vaccination? Anti?

Why?

Myself, I think that if there is no other way to combat this, then by all means, 3 visits to the doctor is a necessary evil.

[Sparklechick]

I just don't see how they're going to get some of these lower income families to go to the doctor to get the immunisation (even if it is free).

For a lot of them, unfortunately, the health of their children isn't really a priority and if they actually have to make an effort to get to the immunisation place then a lot will probably get a case of the can't be bothereds. Sad but true.

[Bluey and Aquila]

because its a disease that it so easily spread and can become deadly within a short amount of time, then yes I say vaccinate.

But as for trying to get everyone to turn up and get it done, maybe they should include it with the existing immunisation program for babies, or have it that to enrol your child at school the child has to be up to date with its vaccines, but meningitis being so common in babies there will be some that will still die or be infected with it.

Or just don't share spit or any other bodily fluid

[spxoobg]

Before you are allowed to even enrol into a school you should have to prove that you have been imunised against [Insert list here].

Since it's against the law to not go to school. Parents would have to make sure they got their kids Vaccinationed. Even the lazy ones who want their kids to go to school to get them out of their hair. To them it would be worth the time I guess.

$200 Million is a awfaul lot of money tho. To save 200 lives. $1 million for one life, and that's if the money lasts for 13 years (SHITE!). Anyway...how long is that $200 million going to last? There a prolly better ways to spend that money too.

But to answer the question. I think they should. If only there was a pool of unlimited money to help other causes at the same time.

[Sparklechick]

They should think about setting up immunisation centres in the schools, otherwise I just don't think parents will make the effort.

It *is* an awful lot of money to spend on only a few people who *may* contract the disease.

We could be spending that money on sending people overseas to study hiphop you know!

[kall]

Originally Posted by spxoobg

If only there was a pool of unlimited money to help other causes at the same time.

Apparently there is, it just depends on the cause.

For example, I received in the mail the other day, a full-colour 6 or 8 page brochure on how the government is doing good things for maori.

For another, the government is spending lots of millions of dollars to entice overseas students to NZ.

Hmm.

[dribblor]

[quote=spxoobg]Before you are allowed to even enrol into a school you should have to prove that you have been imunised against [Insert list here].

Since it's against the law to not go to school. Parents would have to make sure they got their kids Vaccinationed. Even the lazy ones who want their kids to go to school to get them out of their hair. To them it would be worth the time I guess.

I have real issues with barring anyone access to the education that their taxes pay for. Case in point, Hooping cough. I wasnt immunised as a child, cos the doctors had a real concern that the egg based vaccines may kill me. Under your proposal, that would have been me screwed for life. The reality is that the only way that you are going to beat contagious disease is through a combination of education, vaccination, and eliminating the conditions that allow diseases such as TB and Meningitis, which (particularly TB) should be considered as "third world issues", but are showing up in truly scary numbers in our fair nation.

[Sparklechick]

Of course there would have to be some exceptions (such as your case).

Parents need to be held accountable for not immunising their children though, and if it means saying to them "your children can't go to school" then so be it. Most of the people that would be in this group though are probably beneficiaries anyway so the tax payer is already paying for them.

[trogg]

I am in two minds about this one.
On one hand we should do everything possible to try and eliminate as many risks as possible with this disease.
However, there is talk that some vacinations, especially the MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella), can be too much for some people's immune systems and that some cases of Cot death and Autism may be the result of sever reactions.

And as much as this is in the news at the moment with the child having a both lower legs and both lower arms amputated to fight the meningitis, how far could the same money go towards preventing parents from killing their kids. I just wish we had a bottomless pit of money for the health and social welfare systems.

[Penny]

There obviously needs to be something done and thats great if they have found a vacination that works. I remember getting vacinated at schools, so maybe they can do it that same way.

I do not agree with forcing everyone to be vacinated as some parents choose not to vacinate their children from birth as there can be other complications. People should be encouraged to do it. However it should be left to the parents decision.

Originally Posted by Sparklechick

It *is* an awful lot of money to spend on only a few people who *may* contract the disease.

I think it is money well spent, considering vaccination levels in this country are only around 80%.

[edshuck]

The imunization of the public is an interesting debate/question.

Shots in the US are shown to have a certain predicable fatality rate. Sometimes this is as high as one in 1,000 or as low as one in 1,000,000. In the US they were requireing shots for persons going to Iraq. Some refused and were tried for all manner of crimes in military court. Although the shots were shown to have bad, really bad side effects. Naturally, the manufacturerer was granted a not responsible for anything permit.

Kids are required to have certain shots and the shots to be up to date. Given the above, and the numbers could be filled in with a bit of surfing, what do we do.

I think, we have to consider the public good. And when the manufacturer fouls up, bust their chops, good and proper.