Child immunisation: Reports by parents and caregivers. In Fact

The Ministry of Health recommends and subsidises a number of vaccinations to immunise New Zealand children against communicable diseases such as tetanus, polio, and measles (Ministry of Health, 2012a). To monitor national child immunisation rates, the Ministry of Health keeps an official record of the number of New Zealand children who are fully immunised for their age (Ministry of Health, 2012b).

In the Health Promotion Agency’s 2012 Health and Lifestyles Survey (HLS), we asked parents and caregivers about the immunisation of a child in their care. This fact sheet presents responses to these questions and compares parent/caregiver reports of child immunisation rates to those in the official Ministry of Health record.