ELIGIBILITY FOR FREE VACCINE

Eligibility criteria for FREE seasonal influenza vaccination 

VAXIGRIP®, FLUVAX® and INFLUVAC® are free if administered to eligible people by 30th June 2010.

1.  Anyone aged 65 years or over
2.  Anyone aged under 65 years with any of the medical conditions outlined below

• Cardiovascular disease (ischaemic heart disease, congestive heart disease, rheumatic heart disease, congenital heart disease, cerebrovascular disease)
• Chronic respiratory disease (asthma if on regular preventive therapy; other chronic respiratory disease with impaired lung function) 
• Diabetes
• Chronic renal disease
• Cancer (patient currently has cancer), excluding basal and squamous skin cancer if not invasive.
• Other conditions (autoimmune disease, immune suppression, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), transplant recipients, neuromuscular and central nervous system diseases, haemoglobinopathies and children on long term aspirin)

For an extended list of conditions, please refer to the Influenza Kit, section 2.4.

3.  Pregnant women (2010 only)       -       click here for article Safety of influenza vaccination during pregnancy
4.  Morbidly obese individuals (2010 only)
5.  Healthy children aged 6 months to their fifth birthday - General practices can use their discretion to offer free influenza vaccinations to children from high deprivation backgrounds.    Influenza Vaccine and Febrile Convulsions - Key Messages for Health Professionals (29 Apr 10)

The following conditions are excluded from funding

• Asthma not requiring regular preventive therapy
• Hypertension and/or dyslipidaemia without evidence of end-organ disease

For further enquires regarding patient eligibility and technical queries contact:
Immunisation Advisory Centre, University of Auckland, Phone (0800) 466 863 or email: 0800IMMUNE@auckland.ac.nz

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