More than enough vaccines to deal with surge in measle cases says health minister

There are more than enough vaccines to deal with the surging number in measle cases, that’s according to the Minister of Heath.

As Auckland fights the current measles outbreak, David Clark says he’s been assured there’s enough vaccines to deal with the infectious disease.

To date, 1100 cases of measles have been reported nationwide.

Speaking to media today Mr Clark said: “I’ve been assured that here are 35,000 vaccines spread across our national and region’s clinics as of Friday.

“There’s 52,000 more vaccines anticipated by the end of the week to arrive and Pharmac have got talks under way for any beyond that.”

When asked what impact the outbreak has on New Zealand’s reputation given some countries’ travel warnings, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said there had been a 300 per cent increase in measles cases worldwide.