Dr Angus Chambers: Registered GP on rising measles cases and WHO's warning to New Zealand

Last year the World Health Organisation warned New Zealand about the "alarming" gap in its measles immunisation.

Today news of two more measles cases in New Zealand was released bringing the total known measles cases to ten. 

Dr Angus Chambers said to Andrew Dickens that low immunisation rates can be partially attributed to Covid and systematic issues. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
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Speaker 2 (00:16):
So concern is growing around Measles cases in the community.
We're now at eight in twenty twenty five. Eight. It
comes after the World Health Organization warned that New Zealand
officials warn New Zealand officials last year that we have
an alarming gap in immunization rates. The latest figures showed
that just seventy two percent of Maori under fives are

(00:37):
vaccinated compared to eighty two percent of the total population,
and what we actually need is ninety five percent to
get herd immunity. Doctor Angus Chambers is the chair of
Genpro and a registered GP and is with us now
according to your Angus, good morning. Why are people not
getting vaccinated? Is this a hangover from the COVID times.

Speaker 3 (00:57):
Well, there's a lot of factors in it that COVID
probably did have an effect. I think the mandate kind
of pushed some people who are more to the periphery
further to one side. There'd be my impression. But look,
you know there's always been a remnant of people who
haven't seen the value of vaccination. We have the terrible

(01:19):
autism kind of furiala, which was based on false research,
and of course now we know that paracetamol causes aort
of not MMR. But there you go, and so that
was in the background. I guess that the whole kind
of system has been poorly, poorly designed and hasn't been
working as it should. So there's a lot of factors

(01:39):
that you're coming back to what you said, COVID has
made an effect in our beliefs, And.

Speaker 2 (01:42):
Why are Mari so under vaccinated? Seventy two percent of
MARI under fives? I mean, do Mary just not trust
GPS and medical advice?

Speaker 3 (01:54):
Well, that's a banker statement, is definitely not true. There's
a lot of Mari who trust their GPS a lot.
But look, there is also the case that we have
some marginalized populations and Mari, unfortunately are certainly part of that.
And some of the efforts that have been made have
been probably quite appropriate to try and get MARI services

(02:15):
vaccinating MARI people and Pacifica for that matter. But I
think that's been done in you know, I'm just not
sure if that's been done a very good way either. So, yes,
there is a kind of systemic problem with some of
a different population, all right.

Speaker 2 (02:30):
And here we are eight cases, eight cases of measles,
and measles is a terrible thing for a kid to get,
for anyone to get. So the question is with this growing,
I mean, we can't quite call it an epidemic yet,
but with this starting to grow, has health New Zealand?
And the government responded well enough to our low immunization rates,
and what's now occurring right in front of our eyes, well.

Speaker 3 (02:52):
Well it's incredibly worrying, isn't it, And as you say,
very nasty disease. I think the trouble is that to
change the immunization situation take quite a great deal of time,
and in a sad kind of way, this will probably
help because if people start to see harm in their
communities and start to feel worry about them, that that
will probably change their behavior. But look that they're doing,

(03:14):
I suppose as much as they can now. But it's
all been rather too late. And as you say, people
have been warning about it. I suspect people have been
warning about it long before the who has talked about
it last year?

Speaker 2 (03:24):
Angus. I thank you for your time.

Speaker 1 (03:26):
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