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Ella Bates-Hermans/Stuff
Pharmac has widened access to the funded flu vaccine ahead of the 2023 season, which will start from April 1. (File photo)
Free flu vaccines are being offered to tamariki and some Māori and Pacific people ahead of winter.
On Thursday, Pharmac announced the vaccine would be available for free for children aged 6 months to 12 years and Māori and Pasifika aged 55-64 for the 2023 flu season.
The flu vaccine is already free for people over 65, people with long-term conditions (like asthma and diabetes), those who are pregnant and people with specific mental health conditions or addiction issues.
“It has been a rough start to the year for many New Zealanders, following several years of dealing with the effects of Covid-19,” Pharmac’s chief medical officer Dr David Hughes said.
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“We would really like to see our most vulnerable people vaccinated against flu so the impact of illness on their lives and the wider health system is minimised.”
About 835,000 children will be eligible to benefit from the change, including about 370,000 children who are Māori or of any Pacific ethnicity, Pharmac said.
Widened access to the influenza vaccine will start from April 1.
MORE TO COME.
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