Latest / Early Edition with Ryan Bridge / Simeon Brown: Health Minister comments on Measles outbreak as number of cases rises

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Simeon Brown: Health Minister comments on Measles outbreak as number of cases rises · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Okay, so the latest outbreak of measles could pose a
• 0:02
  Speaker 1: risk as it spreads undetected. There were two more cases
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  Speaker 1: confirmed yesterday, bringing the toll the total to thirteen. Alongside that,
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  Speaker 1: there are over two thousand close contacts who've already been identified.
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  Speaker 1: Sammy and Brown is the Health Minister, and here's with
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  Speaker 1: me now. Thank you so much for your time this morning, minister.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning, good morning.
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  Speaker 1: How much does this worry you?
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  Speaker 2: Look, I think this is very concerning. We have a
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  Speaker 2: significant amount of effort being put in by the National
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  Speaker 2: Public Health Service to stamp it out. There's a lot
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  Speaker 2: of work being done to contact trace every case. But
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  Speaker 2: the real key message is that vaccination is our best
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  Speaker 2: protection against further spread of measles, and to encourage everyone
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  Speaker 2: to check their records and get immunized if you're not already.
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  Speaker 1: We have this immunity gap of the four to twelve
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  Speaker 1: month year olds. The mums are hearing this. They want
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  Speaker 1: to do the right thing, They want to immunize their children,
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  Speaker 1: and we obviously have cases spreading in the community. Should
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  Speaker 1: we be allowed these parents to use the zero dose.
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  Speaker 2: Yeah, so that's a question which I've raised with the
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  Speaker 2: National Public Health Service. It's something which they have said
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  Speaker 2: they are keeping watching brief on in terms of the
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  Speaker 2: the analysis. Ultimately, the advice or the early advice I've
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  Speaker 2: received is that that is an option which can be
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  Speaker 2: will be considered. But there's also a potential downside in
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  Speaker 2: that as children are immunized earlier than one year, then
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  Speaker 2: potentially their longer term immunity isn't as good or effectively
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  Speaker 2: the effectiveness of the vaccine isn't as good over the
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  Speaker 2: longer term. So there are some things that they need
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  Speaker 2: to be considered. But that's certainly the conversation that we've
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  Speaker 2: had at this stage. I've got I've got a two
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  Speaker 2: month old myself, so I fully appreciate the concerns of
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  Speaker 2: parents and understand exactly how they're feeling.
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  Speaker 1: I have a feeling that, you know, the parents who
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  Speaker 1: are interested in getting their child VACCINATA between four months
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  Speaker 1: and twelve months are going to be the parents who
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  Speaker 1: will come back and do the further two immunizations, you
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  Speaker 1: know what I mean?
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  Speaker 2: No, look at absolutely one hundred percent agree and so
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  Speaker 2: that is a piece of work which the National Public
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  Speaker 2: Health Service will do. But ultimately this stage very much
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  Speaker 2: focused on stamping this outbreak out and making sure that
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  Speaker 2: we get on top of it.
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  Speaker 1: In twenty nineteen, we had seven hundred people hospitalized when
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  Speaker 1: we had the measles outbreak. Are we prepared for that
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  Speaker 1: all potentially more?
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  Speaker 2: Look, I think there is a plan in place. Ultimately,
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  Speaker 2: we want to avoid what happened back in twenty nineteen,
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  Speaker 2: and that's why we are very focused to stamp it out.
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  Speaker 2: Our hospitals are always under significant pressure regardless of this outbreak,
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  Speaker 2: so ultimately that will put additional pressure on our hospitals.
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  Speaker 2: But that's why the key message is to you know,
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  Speaker 2: check your immunization status, get immunized and you know, and
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  Speaker 2: the work that the National Prodict Health Service is doing
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  Speaker 2: to contact, trace every case to get on top of
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  Speaker 2: this as quickly as possible is critical work and we're
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  Speaker 2: very appreciaive of the work that they're doing.
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  Speaker 1: We've see plankets just open twenty vaccine sites around the country,
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  Speaker 1: which is great. Is there going to be a more
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  Speaker 1: general roll out from Health New Zealand.
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  Speaker 2: Yes, Look, there's there are a lot of vaccination opportunities
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  Speaker 2: and Health New Zealand is shortly going to be running
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  Speaker 2: a National Immunization Week to promote immunization and Immunization promotion
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  Speaker 2: campaign is already underway and we've asked Health New Zealand
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  Speaker 2: to step that up. But there is plenty of opportunities
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  Speaker 2: for people to be vaccinated and the purpose of running
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  Speaker 2: that Immunization Week will be to focus on all of
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  Speaker 2: those opportunities and to raise awareness with the public of
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  Speaker 2: what those opportunities are. So what Plunket's doing is excellent.
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  Speaker 2: Pharmacies are always open, have huge opportunities through pharmacies, your
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  Speaker 2: general practitioner. There are many opportunities for people to be
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  Speaker 2: vaccinated and what we want to do is to highlight
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  Speaker 2: all of those opportunities so people know how easy it
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  Speaker 2: is that they can get themselves and their loved ones vaccinated.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks so much for your time this morning. Simon really
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  Speaker 1: appreciated that. Was a health minister. Same and Brown for
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: more from earlier edition with Ryan Bridge.
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  Speaker 2: Listen live to news Talks there'd be from five am weekdays,
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