Lives Will Continue To Be Lost To Meningococcal Disease As Pharmac Funding For Vaccines Does Not Go Far Enough

Meningitis Foundation says Pharmac must make both the meningococcal B and ACWY vaccines available to ALL young people

The Meningitis Foundation Aotearoa New Zealand says this morning’s announcement from Te Pātaka Whaioranga – Pharmac, providing widened access to the vaccine for the deadly meningococcal B strain, overlooks some of Aotearoa New Zealand’s most at-risk groups.

From 1 March 2023, Pharmac proposes to fund the meningococcal B vaccine (Bexsero) for:

§ children up to 12 months of age (with a relevant catch-up programme)

§ people aged 13 to 25 years who are entering into or in their first year of specified close-living situations (with a limited catch-up programme).

The Meningitis Foundation’s chair, Gerard Rushton, says that while he welcomes access to the meningococcal B vaccine, the devil is in the detail of Pharmac’s fine print.

“We celebrate the decision to fund the meningococcal B vaccine for infants, and implore Pharmac and their sector partners to move quickly to drive uptake of the childhood vaccine to protect our most vulnerable.

“Looking at our rangatahi, we will continue to see deaths related to meningococcal disease due to the lack of a comprehensive and timely vaccination programme.

“Pharmac will provide access to the meningococcal B vaccine to the same narrow group of young adults who currently have access to the meningococcal ACW&Y vaccine. Pharmac is again overlooking significant at-risk groups of 13-25 year-olds who are living in shared flats, or crowded or multigenerational homes.

“This access programme discriminates against those who chose to enter the workforce, assume carer roles, live at home or off-campus, or undertake vocational training.

“Māori and Pasifika within the 13- 25-year-old age range are one of the most at-risk groups and are again largely overlooked,” says Gerard.

The Foundation says that protection through vaccination should be available to all rangatahi, not just a select few.

Funding for the proposed widened access programmes will come into effect from 1st March 2023. The Foundation is concerned this misses the commencement of the academic year for secondary and tertiary institutions, a critical time to reach our young adults, and their parents, caregivers and whānau.

Vaccination rates set by the Government for the ACW&Y vaccine failed to reach their target. Earlier this year, Pharmac allowed $1.7 million worth of meningococcal ACW&Y vaccines to go waste due to low uptake leading to close to expiry date vaccines.

The timing and reach of awareness campaigns is critical to success: “A widening of access MUST be supported by a high-profile awareness campaign by the Ministry of Health. People need to know they, or their family members are eligible for free vaccination,” says Gerard.

“We urge Pharmac to make further assessments to widen vaccine access without delay.”

Background

In March 2022, the Meningitis Foundation presented a petition to Dr Shane Reti, National Spokesperson for Health, signed by 6,357 New Zealanders. The petition urged the Government to fund both meningococcal vaccines for the most common strains of meningococcal disease – the B and A, C, W, & Y strains – for all 16-year-olds before they leave school.

The petition is a critical component of the Foundation’s campaign calling on Parliament to make two currently available vaccines, which cover the most common strains of meningococcal disease, free for all young people.

There have already been 60 cases of invasive meningococcal disease reported in New Zealand so far this year, including several deaths. Sixty five per cent of those cases are Māori and Pasifika, and 80% of cases were meningococcal B.

More information is available here.

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