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This story was originally posted on RNZ.co.nz and is being republished with permission.
New research on childhood vaccination suggests that immunization coverage is declining and that parental doubt about vaccinations may be partly to blame.
University of Canterbury postdoctoral fellow Lukas Marek, who led the research, said that social media had played an important role and that some parents also wanted to live a more natural life.
He found that family wealth and geography were important factors in determining infant vaccination rates in New Zealand.
Marek said Morning report While most of the government’s vaccination education focused on disadvantaged areas, there was also a need to raise awareness in affluent localities.
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“To remind parents that they not only protect their own children, but the entire community.”
University of Canterbury / Supplied
University of Canterbury researcher Lukas Marek has used millions of National Immunization Registry records and census data to investigate immunization trends across the country.
It was critical to provide information to all groups in a way that they could understand, he said.
“People choose not to get vaccinated until something happens.”
He said it could be too late or the vaccine could be missed when parents need it.
Marek was concerned that people would hesitate to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
“I am concerned in a sense that we do not know how the population will respond.
“Our research is focused on children, but we have to realize that a vaccine for Covid will probably have to spread to the entire population, it will be more crucial for our elderly population. It’s difficult to predict how people will respond to that.
He said that the efficacy and duration of the vaccine’s immunity would be important factors in determining its absorption.
This story was originally published on RNZ.co.nz and is being republished with permission.
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Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announces that government ministers have committed to investing $ 27 million in the development of the Covid-19 vaccine.
