Kiwis urged to have flu jabs as soon as possible following MOH swine flu predictions...

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New Zealanders are being urged to have flu jabs as soon as possible following the Ministry of Health's swine flu predictions.




They have predicted the resurgence of swine flu as soon as the end of the month, according to media reports.



Kiwis are being encouraged to get the shot now as it takes up to two weeks to develop immunity after vaccination.



Director of public health Dr Mark Jacobs told reporters the indications from the Northern Hemisphere were "if we are going to get a second wave, it's likely to start quite early in autumn — in March or April".



The injection is about $20 and can be requested from a GP or nurse.



The elderly, young children at high health risk and people with any of a range of listed health conditions can have the jab for free under a government state-funded initiative.



Children must be six months old to have it.



The programme runs until the end of June.



The ministry has said up to half the New Zealand population could have caught the virus during the first wave last year.



An unknown but large number of people would have been exposed to the virus without experiencing any symptoms.



This will work in their favour this year as those people would have become immune to the virus.



Dr Jacobs said that was the ministry was relying on this natural immunity — and advocating rapid uptake of the vaccine — in its hopes that any second wave would have only a mild impact.



Read more about family health: Ministry Of Health

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