At the bottom of the table for full immunisation at 24 months are Northland and Tairawhiti districts (improving trend) followed by Bay of Plenty and Waikato (worsening trend). These regions all have high Maori populations.
Next, 38 Primary Healthcare Organisations are listed and their rates of full immunisation at 24 months provided. Again, here are the bottom four:
Hauraki PHO (Waikato) 58%
Nga Mataapuna Oranga Ltd (Bay of Plenty) 55.6%
Eastern Bay Primary Health Alliance (Bay of Plenty) 52.5%
Ngati Porou Hauora Charitable Trust (Tairawhiti) 38.5%
Very young children have routinely been immunised against measles since the 1970s, more latterly as part of the MMR vaccination. But measles is on the rise again and there’s considerable concern about an outbreak in this country due to pockets of very low vaccination coverage. Right now, Texas is experiencing an outbreak and there are direct flights between Houston and Dallas, and Auckland (a gateway to anywhere in NZ).
Two years ago, describing the coverage then as “dangerously low,” a Maori collective was formed to specifically focus on improving tamariki immunisation rates.
A press release from May 10, 2025, said:
The Collective states that,
‘By engaging whanau with a kaimanaaki-led service of, “by Māori for Māori”, the barriers can be overcome with:
- Consistent service and trusted relationships (genuine, familiar, relatable, culturally appropriate, and high quality)
- Mātauranga Māori, a mana-enhancing approach alongside Western knowledge systems
- Information without judgment or coercion
- Shared values and connections that support vaccination and engagement with healthcare.
The Maori partners forming the collective are "Ora Toa, Ngā Mataapuna Oranga, Hauraki PHO, and Ngāti Porou Hauora". With the exception of Ora Toa (Wellington) the others all fall in the bottom four PHOs for full immunisation by 24 months.
Despite best intentions, the "by Maori for Maori" Matauranga Maori approach is not shifting the dial. In Bay of Plenty and Waikato the coverage is worsening.
Maybe in time it will?
But with the threat of a measles outbreak imminent, time is probably a luxury Maori cannot afford. While the expected fatality rate in developed nations is only around 1 in 1,000 there is a serious risk of hospitalisation and long-lasting complications. It is also entirely possible that the fatality rate would be higher in low income, isolated communities.
Lindsay Mitchell is a welfare commentator who blogs HERE - where this article was sourced.
8 comments:
The "By Maori for Msori (but paid for by Pakeha)" has been happening for well over 50 years and in the vast majority of cases it has failed. Answer to the failure? Do it more and blame the Pakeha.
You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink! They’ve been advised/warned.
Discussed this with a nurse at my local Maori run health clinic. Her experience was that the old Maori folklore was having a big revival and western vaccines are considered less effective than a nice kawakawa tea.
Ironically, the most compelling case against "By maori for maori" has been made by Tamihere with the vast surplus accumulated by his organisations and dissipated as political donations and by salaries. Hoatu he koromatua tango te waewae
When the proverbial hits the fan and the unvaccinated suffer, I wonder who will get blamed for the outbreak.
You get only one guess.
Good healthy, natural nutrition, clean water, good parenting [happy children], good sleep, good actual [rather than virtual] social interactions, are a thousand times better for health than vaccines. My mother died aged 96 yo, her older sister at 99yo .. no vaccines in their lives except when needed [rarely] for travel.
The most vaccinated babies and children in the world live in the USA, and they are the most obese, most allergy suffering, etc etc in the Western world. Their life expectancy is decreasing annually in spite of all pharma/surgery help.
Vaccines are the overwhelmingly profitable pharmacology buiness there is - as Pharma vaccines are excempt from penalty for any bad consequence. [no other drug has this].
I had measles as a child .. life-long immunity.
[Retired Medical Practitioner]
Dear Anonymous, I am also a retired medical practitioner. Born in 1943 I escaped contacting polio in the 1950s epidemic and was fortunate to be given the vaccine when it was introduced in 1955. By 1988 Polio had been eradicated in the USA, UK and Australia thanks to vaccination using Sabin's OPV vaccine - not good food and fresh air. Similarly, with vaccination Smallpox has been eradicated world wide. From 1972 to 1995 I worked in a South African hospital caring for African patients, mainly from poor circumstances. Although a surgeon myself I was aware of the high mortality in children with measles sick enough to require hospital admission. Measles can kill. May I ask if you have ever been involved in medical research and have toured the HQ of one of the Major Pharmaceutical companies which develop vaccines? I have.
Good food etc didn't eradicate Polio in the USA, UK and Australia, and Smallpox worldwide. I can't believe that a medical practitioner puts the longevity of his relatives down to the fact they weren't vaccinated - could it not be that they had good genes? I wasn't aware that the obesity problem in the USA was due to vaccinations - I always thought it was due to eating too much and a bad life style. The time and costs involved in making a new drug or vaccine are phenomenal. Research from the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development estimates the cost at $2.6 billion for one drug as of 2021. Pharma has to make money. The question of no liability for vaccines is complex. This article reviews the situation in the USA. https://www.findlaw.com/healthcare/patient-rights/can-i-sue-vaccine-manufacturers-.html. Finally, measles can be serious in all age groups. Before it was part of routine childhood immunizations, measles caused millions of deaths around the world. The majority of people who, like Anonymous, suffer measles without having been immunized will get away with it - but some won't.
Post a Comment