Meningitis Foundation calls for bipartisan support for free adolescent vaccination programme

The Meningitis Foundation is calling for bipartisan support for a fully funded vaccination programme for adolescents.The foundation told the Health Select Committee that, when it came to meningitis, New Zealanders had "no fence at the top of the cliff, and no ambulance at the bottom either".The foundation said that two vaccines were required for the "best possible protection": one was for meningococcal B strain, and another for the A, C, W, and Y strains."For those who are not eligible to receive a funded vaccine, the total cost of vaccination is $450," the foundation said."This is a significant barrier for many families. The foundation considers that there is unequal access to meningitis vaccines, which is leading to preventable deaths and disabilities."The foundation also wanted Community Services Card Holders to have access to the free vaccination programme, aftercare support for survivors, and improved monitoring and notification of meningitis cases.Pharmac funded a meningococcal B vaccine for children under five. It also funded meningococcal B and ACWY vaccines for people with certain high-risk medical conditions and those aged between 13 and 25 living in some close-living environments.This included boarding schools, university halls, military barracks, youth justice residences, and prisons.Close living situations did not include flatting or other group living situations.Pharmac said it supported a proposal to give universal access to ACWY vaccines to children between the ages of one and four years old, and another proposal for adolescents who were between 14 and 21 years old.However, Pharmac told the Select Committee that there had not been clinical support for universal access to the meningococcal B vaccine for adolescents and young adults.In 2023, Pharmac's Immunisation Advisory Committee recommended declining an application to fund that vaccine for 13- to 25-year-olds.This was partly because the overall benefits of the vaccine were not considered proportionate to its costs and risks.Pharmac had asked its Immunisation Advisory Committee to reconsider its previous recommendation regarding meningococcal vaccination during its May 2026 meeting.A spokesperson said the records from that meeting were still being finalised and were expected to be released in September.The Minister responsible for Pharmac, David Seymour, said it made funding decisions independently of the government."Pharmac currently fund two vaccines used to prevent meningitis, and are considering a number of applications to widen access to both Meningococcal vaccines. This includes widening access for this these vaccines to include children and young people currently outside the funding criteria."Health NZ said it had made significant improvement in childhood immunisations, with 83.5 percent of children fully immunised at two years old in the quarter to March 2026, compared to 79.3 percent in the quarter to March 2025.It said that since June 2023, it had taken steps to increase awareness among vaccinators and target populations.This included notifying tertiary institutions of vaccine eligibility for young people, and communicating directly to schools with boarding facilities at the start and end of each school year.