One former Finance Minister has voiced support for introducing a comprehensive vaccination program aimed towards older New Zealanders.
A new report has revealed that a publicly funded vaccination program for the flu, shingles and RSV directed at over-65s would create an economic benefit of over $1 billion over four years.
Steven Joyce says health systems all over the world are under pressure - and a new solution is needed.
"What attracted me to this is - we know about the benefit of vaccinations to children, there's a huge increase in life expectancy that occurred as a result of that. When you look at it this way, it's just as much of a no-brainer."
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now former Finance Minister Stephen Joyce is backing a call
for a comprehensive vaccination program for pensioners. A new report
has found that a publicly funded VAX program for the flu,
shingles and RSV for people over the age of sixty
five would create an economic benefit of over one billion
dollars over four years. And Stephen Joyce's with us. Now,
how Stephen?
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Hello, how are you? I prefer the term older New
Zealanders to pensioners.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Have you got your Gold card already?
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Have you? No? No, not yet? But I know people
that have. Yeah?
Speaker 1 (00:29):
It does you know what it feels like? It's kicking
in nowadays? It's too young to call the sixty five
year old pensioners. But such as the truth.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Now fix a while ago. But I didn't have the
right number of votes from the right number of older
people matter.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Yeah, I can imagine which one now listen on this,
I mean, this seems perfectly reasonable, it makes sense. But
should we be skeptical about a report that's been commissioned
by GSK given that they provide all of these jabs.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Well, look, I mean obviously they've got an interest in
upfront about it. But I think the idea is very valid,
and I've got a reputable economic consultancy to actually do
the numbers about what's saved, and in a way that
obviously that they couldn't come up with themselves. And it
impressed me because I thought, well, actually, that is quite
a clever move. We've got a health system, not just
(01:21):
here but all over the world. It's completely under pressure
all the time. Every government ends up dipping a lot
more money into it, never seems to meet the demand.
We need some I think fresh thinking about it. And
so what attracted me to this was that, well, hang on,
we know about the benefit of vaccinations to children, the
huge increase in life expectancy that occurred as a result
(01:41):
of that, and then you look at it this one.
It's actually just about as much as a no brainer
because you've got all these common preventable diseases that older
people get caught up with, and they can make their
other ailments worse, can prevent them from doing work in
the community and up the health system. So it seems
(02:02):
like a good ideamy.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
What does it cost to save a billion dollars?
Speaker 2 (02:06):
It's a very good question, and it's in the report.
Is my answer to that it's a couple of hundred
million over four years, and it depends on uptake. I
mean they did their initial work on a sixty percent uptake,
which is roughly what it is now for the flu vaccine,
and effectively what it is is RSV plus the flu
(02:28):
plus plus shingles vaccine, and it's the idea is that
it's sixty five you'd become eligible for those, all three
of them. And if you did a public health campaign
alongside that which was able to lift it to eighty percent,
it's thousands of doctors visits no longer needed, GP visits,
(02:50):
a huge number of hospital visits not needed, and then
leaves the hospitals to focus in on the frankly, what
is the more serious and intractable diseases like cancer and
a heart disease. So it seems to make quite a
bit of sense.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Do you watch Parliament today?
Speaker 2 (03:07):
No? I didn't see Parliament today. I actually in Parliament now,
which is quite a spooky experience for somebody who was
there for so long and so intensely. But there we are.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
So have you caught up on the sea bomb being
dropped in Parliament?
Speaker 2 (03:19):
I haven't caught up on that, but I am familiar
with the issue with the sea bomb and the media.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
What do you make of it?
Speaker 2 (03:25):
By the way, I don't think we need to lie
media or parliamentary standards anymore, would be my view. Long
enough and some words should be left out of the
public discourse. And I'm disappointed actually that it's happened, putting
a media hat on which I may have to do.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
I was about to ask that, because you're obviously everybody's
loving the idea of you being the chair of ends
in me, do you reckon you'll you'll be pretty confident
you've got the votes.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Well, I think everybody sort of got together and decided, well,
this is a this is a slate that can win
work at the meeting that's coming up in a couple
of weeks. And we now have the required number of
directors for the required number of spots. So I think
that's a good, good step forward.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Are you going to basically, you know, look after your
favorite children being radio at the expense of hero like, No,
don't worry about the herald Stephen nobody they get way
too much attention.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
That sounds sounds like a pitch heare, But I can say,
what is that of course that is and of course
I also think, he said, getting back to the subject
of the interview, I also think that the politicians should
look really closely at this opportunity.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Hey, thank you very much for your time. I appreciate it.
Steven Joy's former finance minister, who by the way, has
been mooted as the chair of this company ends and
be as obviously owns News Talk ZEDB.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Listen live to News Talks EDB from four pm weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
Now former Finance Minister Stephen Joyce is backing a call
for a comprehensive vaccination program for pensioners. A new report
has found that a publicly funded VAX program for the flu,
shingles and RSV for people over the age of sixty
five would create an economic benefit of over one billion
dollars over four years. And Stephen Joyce's with us. Now,
how Stephen?
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Hello, how are you? I prefer the term older New
Zealanders to pensioners.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Have you got your Gold card already?
Speaker 2 (00:25):
Have you? No? No, not yet? But I know people
that have. Yeah?
Speaker 1 (00:29):
It does you know what it feels like? It's kicking
in nowadays? It's too young to call the sixty five
year old pensioners. But such as the truth.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Now fix a while ago. But I didn't have the
right number of votes from the right number of older
people matter.
Speaker 1 (00:46):
Yeah, I can imagine which one now listen on this,
I mean, this seems perfectly reasonable, it makes sense. But
should we be skeptical about a report that's been commissioned
by GSK given that they provide all of these jabs.
Speaker 2 (00:57):
Well, look, I mean obviously they've got an interest in
upfront about it. But I think the idea is very valid,
and I've got a reputable economic consultancy to actually do
the numbers about what's saved, and in a way that
obviously that they couldn't come up with themselves. And it
impressed me because I thought, well, actually, that is quite
a clever move. We've got a health system, not just
(01:21):
here but all over the world. It's completely under pressure
all the time. Every government ends up dipping a lot
more money into it, never seems to meet the demand.
We need some I think fresh thinking about it. And
so what attracted me to this was that, well, hang on,
we know about the benefit of vaccinations to children, the
huge increase in life expectancy that occurred as a result
(01:41):
of that, and then you look at it this one.
It's actually just about as much as a no brainer
because you've got all these common preventable diseases that older
people get caught up with, and they can make their
other ailments worse, can prevent them from doing work in
the community and up the health system. So it seems
(02:02):
like a good ideamy.
Speaker 1 (02:03):
What does it cost to save a billion dollars?
Speaker 2 (02:06):
It's a very good question, and it's in the report.
Is my answer to that it's a couple of hundred
million over four years, and it depends on uptake. I
mean they did their initial work on a sixty percent uptake,
which is roughly what it is now for the flu vaccine,
and effectively what it is is RSV plus the flu
(02:28):
plus plus shingles vaccine, and it's the idea is that
it's sixty five you'd become eligible for those, all three
of them. And if you did a public health campaign
alongside that which was able to lift it to eighty percent,
it's thousands of doctors visits no longer needed, GP visits,
(02:50):
a huge number of hospital visits not needed, and then
leaves the hospitals to focus in on the frankly, what
is the more serious and intractable diseases like cancer and
a heart disease. So it seems to make quite a
bit of sense.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
Do you watch Parliament today?
Speaker 2 (03:07):
No? I didn't see Parliament today. I actually in Parliament now,
which is quite a spooky experience for somebody who was
there for so long and so intensely. But there we are.
Speaker 1 (03:15):
So have you caught up on the sea bomb being
dropped in Parliament?
Speaker 2 (03:19):
I haven't caught up on that, but I am familiar
with the issue with the sea bomb and the media.
Speaker 1 (03:24):
What do you make of it?
Speaker 2 (03:25):
By the way, I don't think we need to lie
media or parliamentary standards anymore, would be my view. Long
enough and some words should be left out of the
public discourse. And I'm disappointed actually that it's happened, putting
a media hat on which I may have to do.
Speaker 1 (03:45):
I was about to ask that, because you're obviously everybody's
loving the idea of you being the chair of ends
in me, do you reckon you'll you'll be pretty confident
you've got the votes.
Speaker 2 (03:54):
Well, I think everybody sort of got together and decided, well,
this is a this is a slate that can win
work at the meeting that's coming up in a couple
of weeks. And we now have the required number of
directors for the required number of spots. So I think
that's a good, good step forward.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Are you going to basically, you know, look after your
favorite children being radio at the expense of hero like, No,
don't worry about the herald Stephen nobody they get way
too much attention.
Speaker 2 (04:23):
That sounds sounds like a pitch heare, But I can say,
what is that of course that is and of course
I also think, he said, getting back to the subject
of the interview, I also think that the politicians should
look really closely at this opportunity.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Hey, thank you very much for your time. I appreciate it.
Steven Joy's former finance minister, who by the way, has
been mooted as the chair of this company ends and
be as obviously owns News Talk ZEDB.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
For more from Heather Duplessy Allen Drive.
Speaker 1 (04:50):
Listen live to News Talks EDB from four pm weekdays,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio.
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