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Michael Baker: Otago University Public Health Professor on Pharmac's proposal to expand free flu vaccines · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

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  Speaker 1: Two hundred and sixty thousand extra kids will get a
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  Speaker 1: free flu vaccine under a new FARMAC proposal. Only those
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  Speaker 1: sixty five and older are free at the moment from
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  Speaker 1: twenty twenty seven. If this goes ahead, kids age six
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  Speaker 1: months to five years would get the same. Michael Baker
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  Speaker 1: Otiger University epidemiologists with us this morning.
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  Speaker 2: Michael, Good, Morning, Marena, Ryan Good.
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  Speaker 1: There's lots of kids get their flu vaccine.
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  Speaker 2: Quite a few will get it at the moment because
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  Speaker 2: it's recommended for everyone from six months of age and above,
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  Speaker 2: but as you point out, it's only provided or funded
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  Speaker 2: by the government for certain groups, you know, older people
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  Speaker 2: and people of any age with certain underlying conditions.
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  Speaker 1: Do kids get the flu and do they die from it?
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  Speaker 1: Is it bad?
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  Speaker 2: They get the highest rates of flu of any population group,
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  Speaker 2: mainly because they just haven't built up antibodies because they
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  Speaker 2: haven't been exposed to it, and some every year there
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  Speaker 2: will be a small number who die from the flu.
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  Speaker 2: But they also basically have time off well preschool, in school,
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  Speaker 2: and also they often infect other members of their families.
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  Speaker 2: So quite a few countries around the world now fund
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  Speaker 2: vaccine for under fives or under sixes.
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  Speaker 1: Michael, what happens You say that they don't get it
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  Speaker 1: as often, therefore they don't have Well, they get it
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  Speaker 1: more often, I should say, because they don't have the antibodies.
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  Speaker 1: If you vaccinate them, then they don't get the antibodies.
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  Speaker 1: So I mean, you know what happens down the track.
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  Speaker 2: Well, they are still exposed to circulating virus. They will
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  Speaker 2: build up antibodies. It's just they get a lot of
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  Speaker 2: their protection from the vaccine rather than getting sick. Right,
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  Speaker 2: So that's a bit. It's a better way to build
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  Speaker 2: up your immunity.
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  Speaker 1: So it has no long term difference whether you get
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  Speaker 1: your antibodies from a vaccine or whether you get your
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  Speaker 1: antibodies from actually having the flu.
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  Speaker 2: It probably does have some long term effects, but on balance,
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  Speaker 2: it's better to get your protection from vaccination.
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  Speaker 1: What about the I saw David Seymour and FARMAC and teed.
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  Speaker 1: We're talking about a new range of vaccines for flu
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  Speaker 1: vaccines for over sixty fives. What's better about them?
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  Speaker 2: Well, you're right, this is overall is changed by FARMAC
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  Speaker 2: is really looking at a total of seventeen vaccines over
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  Speaker 2: the next three years, and a lot of them. Are
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  Speaker 2: you call it sort of incremental improvements. So one is
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  Speaker 2: with the adult flu vaccine to use one that is
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  Speaker 2: what's called adjuv ented, So it's got another item included
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  Speaker 2: in the vaccine mix that just means it gives slightly
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  Speaker 2: better protection for older adults, and that's the fluid vaccine.
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  Speaker 2: So that's a relatively small change. And also all of
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  Speaker 2: the other vaccines that everyone under sixty five gets are
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  Speaker 2: also switching to a different vaccine which is thought to
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  Speaker 2: be slightly more effective, and that's just the way it's produced. Essentially.
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  Speaker 2: The other changes. There's a vaccine against new mechanical disease
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  Speaker 2: and that's for all children and it covered a range
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  Speaker 2: of thirteen This is getting a bit technical, but there
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  Speaker 2: are covered thirteen tereotypes and that's been expanded to cover twenties.
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  Speaker 2: So it's just going to be more effective at preventing
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  Speaker 2: pneumonia in children, and then they'll go into adulthood as
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  Speaker 2: well and have that protection.
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  Speaker 1: All right. Michael Baker, Epidemiologists.
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  Speaker 2: For more from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge.
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