New Zealand has reached its highest immunisation rate in three years, with over 80% of children fully vaccinated by 24 months of age.
However, the national milestone masks disparities for Māori communities.
According to Te Tiratū Iwi Māori Partnership Board in Waikato, immunisation rates in their region are 33% lower than the national average.
Te Tiratū board member and Māori clinician Dr Mataroria Lyndon said national statistics, while encouraging, fail to reflect the challenges Māori continue to face.
“I want to whakanui and recognise that that’s important, that we are making progress,” he said. “But, we know that those national rates don’t reflect the realities for Māori and the inequities or the gaps around Māori immunisation rates, which are sitting at 62% in our rohe of Waikato-Tainui, and I know it’s similar for Te Tai Tokerau as well.”
Measles Risk Intensifies
With a recent outbreak of measles in Auckland, Lyndon is urging urgent action to improve immunisation rates among tamariki Māori.
“It can have severe complications, it can be life-threatening because of the complications like pneumonia, brain swelling, or inflammation. We saw in our whanaunga in Samoa, and that outbreak, over 5000 cases and 83 deaths. We don’t want that similar tragedy here in Aotearoa,” he said.
Access remains a major barrier for many whānau in rural areas, with transport issues and difficulties securing GP appointments among the key obstacles. Lyndon stresses the need for the health system to meet families where they are.
“I want to put it on what are we doing as health services, as a health system, to meet whānau where they are. How is it that we can have our community-led, Māori-led, by Māori for Māori campaigns who are able to reach into hapori, to be able to listen to whānau and look at what they need to be able to improve our immunisation rates.”
Spread of Disinformation
Lyndon is also calling for stronger efforts to tackle misinformation, particularly on social media, where many whānau are exposed to anti-vaccine narratives.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, widespread misinformation about vaccine safety and ingredients took root — a trend that health experts fear could resurface around the MMR vaccine.
“I think it’s about us doing a better job in hauora, in health, through our hauora Māori providers through the health system, means to reach our whānau, to be able to combat and address misinformation while also being able to answer the questions whānau have,” Lyndon said.
