Pharmac's changes to Meningococcal Vaccine eligibility w/ Meningitis Foundation Chair Gerard Rushton: 11 August, 2025

At the end of July, Pharmac made the decision to expand eligibility to a fully funded Meningococcal B vaccine to all children under five. This decision has been supported and welcomed by the Meningitis Foundation, who say it will benefit over seventy thousand children in New Zealand. 

Now, the Foundation is calling for eligibility to be increased to a higher age limit, to account for all young people in New Zealand. Currently, younger people’s access to the funded vaccine is dependent on whether or not they fit a specific criteria, such as a first year student in halls, and the Foundation believes that young people would benefit greatly from the expanding of these criteria to cover a larger portion of the vulnerable young population.

Producer Alex spoke to Gerard Rushton, the chair of the Meningitis Foundation, about Pharmac’s decision, how meningitis affects young people, and why we should be expanding the eligibility to take care of young New Zealanders.