12 February 2026
Our team in Whanganui were pleased to welcome their local MP Carl Bates and his gorgeous daughter Bonnie-Ann into their clinic for a vaccination from a Plunket nurse.
It was great to talk to Carl about the impact that the immunisation pilot is having on whānau, as well as a general kōrero about the other wonderful services our team deliver in the area.
In just 12 months, we have established 24 immunisation-ready clinics around the country and administered more than 6,600 vaccines.
Run in partnership with Health New Zealand, the pilot aims to provide more opportunities for whānau to access childhood immunisations in their community. We share the government’s concern at low childhood immunisation rates, and support their target to have 95 percent of tamariki fully immunised at two years old by 2030.
The uptake of vaccinations with Plunket has been highest for Māori whānau at 37 per cent, followed by Asian whānau at 20 per cent. Feedback has been positive, with many saying they chose Plunket for this important service because they trusted their Plunket nurse and appreciated the calm and welcoming environment we provide.
In addition to offering free immunisations for tamariki under five and hapū māmā, in response to the recent measles outbreak we expanded our service to anyone over the age of 12 months who needs an MMR (measles, mumps and rubella vaccine).
A total of 69 Plunket nurses have now been trained so they can offer immunisation alongside our Well Child Tamariki Ora services, with more to come.
Image (left-to-right): Plunket Nurse and authorised vaccinator Kelly Paterson, Clinical Services Manager Bronwyn Clulow, and MP Carl Bates holding Bonnie-Ann Bates.
