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Free flu vaccinations for children are being extended to babies from six months old.
Pharmac said the change was one of a series of measures to keep the most vulnerable people safe and to try to keep pressure of hospitals this winter.
Last winter, free flu vaccines were offered for children from three- to 12 years old. But this year the lower age threshold has been moved to six months.
Pharmac is continuing an initiative started last year to vaccinate Māori and Pacific patients over 55 for free.
Everyone else is free from 65, as are those with conditions that make them more vulnerable to the flu.
The widened access to the vaccine will start from 1 April.
"It has been a rough start to the year for many New Zealanders, following several years of dealing with the effects of Covid-19," Pharmac's chief medical officer, Dr David Hughes said.
"We would really like to see our most vulnerable people vaccinated against flu so the impact of illness on their lives and the wider health system is minimised.
"Approximately 835,000 children will be eligible to benefit from this change, including approximately 370,000 children who are Māori or of any Pacific ethnicity. We encourage as many families as possible to get their tamariki vaccinated for free."
The Afluria Quad and Afluria Quad Junior brands are the only funded influenza vaccines in 2023.
