Influenza Vaccinations

Pacific Health Plus offers both funded and unfunded vaccines for enrolled patients only.

  • For those patients who are eligible for the funded influenza vaccine, there is no charge.

  • For those patients who are not eligible for the funded influenza vaccine, there will be a charge of $35.

Eligible Conditions for Funded Influenza Vaccination

Funded influenza vaccine is available each year for people who meet the following criteria set by PHARMAC:*

  1. All people 65 years of age and over; or

  2. Māori and Pacific peoples aged 55 to 64 years; or

  3. People under 65 years of age who:

    • have any of the following cardiovascular diseases:

      • ischaemic heart disease, or

      • congestive heart failure, or

      • rheumatic heart disease, or

      • congenital heart disease, or

      • cerebrovascular disease; or

    • have either of the following chronic respiratory diseases:

      • asthma, if on a regular preventative therapy, or

      • other chronic respiratory disease with impaired lung function; (a) or

    • have diabetes; or

    • have chronic renal disease; or

    • have any cancer, excluding basal and squamous skin cancers if not invasive; or

    • have any of the following other conditions:

      • autoimmune disease, (b) or

      • immune suppression or immune deficiency, or

      • HIV, or

      • transplant recipient, or

      • neuromuscular or CNS disease/disorder, (c) or

      • haemoglobinopathy, (d) or

      • children on long-term aspirin, or

      • a cochlear implant, or

      • error of metabolism at risk of major metabolic decompensation, or

      • pre- or post-splenectomy, or

      • Down syndrome, or

    • are pregnant (any trimester); or

  4. Children aged 6 months to 12 years inclusive (please note: for eligible tamariki who require two doses of the vaccine, both doses are funded).

Unless also meeting the previous criteria, the following conditions are excluded from funding:

  • asthma not requiring regular preventative therapy

  • hypertension and/or dyslipidaemia without evidence of end-organ disease

*New Zealand Pharmaceutical Schedule at schedule.pharmac.govt.nz/ScheduleOnline.php

(a) Chronic respiratory diseases include chronic bronchitis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis, emphysema.

(b) Autoimmune diseases may include coeliac disease, Crohn’s disease, Grave’s disease, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, lupus, rheumatoid arthritis. Immune suppression or immune deficiency includes disease modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDS) or targeted biologic therapies.

(c) Neuromuscular and CNS diseases/disorders include cerebral palsy, congenital myopathy, epilepsy, hydrocephaly, motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophy, myasthenia gravis, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injury.

(d) Haemoglobinopathies include sickle cell anaemia, thalassemia