In this digital age we tend to assume that all our health and immunisation records are available electronically. This is not the case for people born in Southern before 2006.
The National Immunisation Register was created to enable vaccination records to be held and available in a central place, but the first Southern babies to have their records stored in NIR were born in 2006.
For people born before 2006, your childhood records are paper based in your Wellchild/Tamariki Ora/Plunket books, or overseas records if not born in New Zealand.
Your GP may hold an electronic copy of your immunisation records, but it is unlikely to have been shared with the National Immunisation Register.
To check your immunisation status:
- Check the immunisation pages in your Wellchild/Tamariki Ora/Plunket book or overseas record.
- If you can access your GP's records through a patient portal, copies of your immunisation records may be found there.
If you have no record of an MMR vaccine, then contact your GP, Māori or Pacific provider, participating Māori or Pacific Provider or your participating local pharmacy to arrange FREE vaccination. There are no additional safety concerns with having an extra dose.