Media release: Covid-19 vaccines work, but we need to do more to get the most out of them

While keeping up with your Covid-19 boosters is still the most effective way to protect yourself in the ongoing pandemic, infectious disease experts say we could get even better public health value from the vaccines.

In the latest Briefing from the Public Health Communication Centre, Professor John Potter from Massey University and co-authors detail how vaccines against Covid-19 remain effective at preventing multiple adverse effects during the Omicron era. They also describe how we should be doing more to promote additional boosters and other measures to get maximum benefits from these vaccines.

This article includes a comprehensive review of the effectiveness of vaccines during the Omicron period when many people have been both vaccinated and infected with Covid-19. This review shows that vaccines hold out well against the newer subvariants and continue to provide a good level of protection against infection, hospitalisation, death and Long Covid as well as improving outcomes for pregnant people.

Professor Potter, who is at Massey’s Centre for Public Health Research, says we should have an active strategy to establish the widest availability and acceptability of the vaccination programme. “That includes keeping the vaccines up to date as the variants change and promoting high and equitable coverage.”

“The single most important measure is to promote regular additional vaccine doses to counter the effects of waning immunity, particularly among older individuals and the immune-compromised.”

“Also, it makes sense to extend eligibility for regular additional doses to below the current age 30 cut-off as Long Covid can affect people of all ages. This change in policy would allow younger health care workers, teachers and other exposed groups to get the benefits of additional vaccine doses.”

Co-author Professor Michael Baker from the University of Otago says we need better systems to sustain high vaccine coverage, including a clear national strategy, effective communication, reduced vaccine disinformation, and an active partnership with Māori and Pacific communities. High-performing immunisation infrastructure needs to track vaccination coverage, remind people at high-risk when they are due for vaccination, and send recalls if they have missed out.

“New Zealand needs a national respiratory infection prevention strategy to combat Covid-19, influenza and the other seasonal respiratory infections that are our leading infectious disease killers. Such a strategy could also help prepare us for future pandemics that are likely to be respiratory infections,” says Professor Baker.