Northland DHB has delivered three Meningococcal Vaccination programmes - with Meningococcal B in 2004/5, Meningococcal C in 2011/12 and Meningococcal W in 2018/19. "We are very much a whānau school, virtually everyone is related so that's probably the shock - it's not just a student, it's whanau." However, Kistemaker did not downplay the very real danger meningococcal disease posed. Meningococcal disease facts:Meningococcal germs are carried in the back of the throat of about one in 10 people at any one time but only very rarely cause illness. Children who have previously received meningococcal vaccination can still get meningococcal disease because the vaccine does not protect against all types of meningococcal bacteria.

Source: New Zealand Herald February 23, 2021 04:51 UTC