Flu Hospitalisations Among Under-Fives Hit 10-Year High as Advisors Push for Free Vaccines

Flu is sending young children to hospital at rates not seen in a decade, and the government's vaccine advisory body wants the flu jab made free for all under-fives.

Public Health data for the week to 16 August showed 75 out of every 100,000 children under five were hospitalised with severe respiratory illnesses — the highest rate of any age group. In Auckland, flu hospitalisation rates reached a 10-year high. Pasifika people of all ages were more likely than any other group to be admitted with severe respiratory illness (RNZ).

Dr Mamaeroa David, chair of the National Immunisation Technical Advisory Group — the body that advises the government on vaccine policy — and a GP, said Māori and Pasifika children were being hit hardest. She said ethnicity was likely a stand-in for factors like crowded housing, limited access to health services, and higher rates of existing medical conditions. Some under-fives with flu ended up in intensive care, and some may never come home.

David said she knew parents who wanted to immunise their children against flu but could not afford it. She called for funded flu vaccination for under-fives, especially Māori and Pacific babies, and for lowering the funded age for older people from 65 to 55. She said she had not felt this uneasy since the 2019 measles outbreak, which killed more than 85 children in Samoa.

As of 2026, the flu vaccine is free for people aged 65 and over and for those aged 6 months and over with a long-term medical condition (Health NZ). Under-fives without a history of severe respiratory illness or another serious condition like diabetes, heart disease or asthma do not qualify. Pharmac — the government agency that decides which medicines are publicly funded — said about half of all flu vaccine doses used in New Zealand each year, around 700,000, were publicly funded.

Adrienne Martin, Pharmac's chief advisor for pharmaceuticals, said funded flu vaccines were available for everyone 65 and over and for people under 65 at higher risk of severe illness, including pregnant people and children aged four and under with qualifying conditions. Pharmac has finished public consultation on a proposal to widen free flu vaccine access to all children from six months up to five years.

Associate Health Minister David Seymour said Pharmac would announce on a Wednesday afternoon a decision that would make flu season more manageable for all families.

The 2026 flu immunisation programme objectives include offering the influenza vaccine to all children aged between 6 months and 4 years upon hospital discharge (Te Whatu Ora).

The broader context here is a direct reversal of policy settings from two years ago. In 2024, New Zealand decided to stop offering free flu vaccines for all children under 12 (The Spinoff, The Conversation). Health experts warned at the time that the move would likely undo recent gains in vaccine uptake. Free flu vaccines were also dropped for Māori and Pacific people aged 55–64 (Paediatric Society of NZ).

The Paediatric Society of New Zealand opposed the eligibility changes and issued a media release titled 'PSNZ Stands Against Changes to Free Influenza Vaccine Eligibility' on 12 April 2024 (PSNZ).

Australia's National Immunisation Program provides free flu vaccines for those most at risk, including children under 5 and pregnant women, offering a trans-Tasman comparison point for the funding decisions now under consideration by Pharmac. Te Whatu Ora's national influenza vaccine data page, last updated on 19 August covering data to 16 August, continues to track uptake weekly.