MMR vaccines

NZ to send medical staff and measles vaccines to Samoa

Foreign Minister Winston Peters said New Zealand is providing 3000 measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccines and 12 nurses to assist in containing a serious and growing measles outbreak.

“Measles is highly contagious, and the outbreak has taken lives in Samoa. It is in everybody’s interests that we work together to stop its spread,” Mr Peters said.

The first nurses, who will administer vaccinations, will arrive on Wednesday, with other nurses working on rotation over the coming weeks.

The vaccines are undergoing final clearance to arrive in Samoa next week.

Samoa MOH to resume immunization programme

At a press conference Tuesday, Director General of Health, Leausa Dr. Take Naseri reassured that a thorough investigation into the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine, which allegedly claimed the lives of two young infants from Savaii last year, has found the vaccine to be “100% safe.”

Both children received the MMR vaccine shortly before their deaths.

The Government then aborted the children’s immunization programme to await the outcome of a medical and criminal investigation. 

Samoa babies who died after vaccine to be returned to families

The childrens' deaths soon after receiving the common MMR vaccine prompted the government to temporarily call off vaccination programmes.

Lemalu Herman Retzlaff says post-mortems have been conducted, and a forensic pathology team from Australia is helping to establish why they died.

A separate police investigation is continuing.

Meanwhile, the health ministry has taken issue with some local and media speculation, saying it risks undermining the national immunisation programme.

     

Don't rush to judge on Samoa infant deaths - specialist

The babies died last Friday after receiving the MMR vaccination for measles, mumps and rubella at Savaii's Safotu hospital.

Middlemore Hospital intensive care specialist David Galler, has worked in Samoa and told Morning Report it's important people don't rush to judgement.

"I think our hearts go out to all those families, but also to the community in Samoa who will have great fear now about the risks of vaccination and that will also stir the fires of the anti-vaccination campaigns in other places, and I'm in particular, our own country, New Zealand," he said.

Samoa Health CEO keen to allay fears of MMR vaccines

The infants both one year old died suddenly on Savai’i last week after receiving the MMR vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella.

Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Health, Leausa Dr. Take Naseri says the injections have been examined and were found clean as claimed by the nurses in Safotu.

“There was nothing wrong with the vaccines.”

“All these vaccines have series of testing to make sure they are safe and effective for curing diseases,” said Dr Naseri.

He added that he is also concerned about the safety of the nurses involved.