YourHealth
Immunisation advice for you and your family
Find out why it’s important to get immunised. Read more
Immunisation
Immunisation can protect people against harmful infections, which can cause serious complications, including death. It is one of the most effective, and cost-effective medical interventions to prevent disease.
Immunisation uses the body’s natural defence mechanism, the immune response, to build resistance to specific infections. When an immunised person comes in contact with that disease in the future, their immune system will respond to prevent them developing the disease.
A selection of the vaccines which can prevent these diseases are included in the National Immunisation Schedule.
Common side-effects of immunisation are redness and soreness at the site of injections and mild fever. While these symptoms may be upsetting at the time, the benefit is protection from the disease. More serious reactions to immunisation are very rare.
Latest updates
In this section
- The National Immunisation Schedule is the series of vaccines that are offered free to babies, children, adolescents and adults. Read more
- Girls and young women born from 1 January 1990 are eligible to participate in New Zealand’s HPV (human papillomavirus) Immunisation Programme. Read more
- Documents and papers which informed the Ministry's recent decisions regarding vaccines to protect against Pandemic H1N1 influenza (swine flu). Read more
- Immunisation coverage is the percentage of children who have received all of the immunisations on the National Childhood Immunisation Schedule for their age. Read more
- The National Immunisation Register (NIR) is a computerised information system that has been developed to hold immunisation details of New Zealand children. Read more
- Immunisation eLearning is a unique website designed to help midwives, undergraduate nurses and childbirth educators to quickly and easily find useful information and resources about immunisation in New Zealand. Read more
- Publications relating to immunisation in New Zealand. Read more
- Useful links relating to immunisation in New Zealand and overseas. Read more
- Updates relating to immunisation in New Zealand. Read more
Page last updated: 17 November 2011
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