HealthInfo Waitaha Canterbury
Vaccinations for older children and young adults
Ngā rongoā āraimate mō ngā taiohi
At 11, your tamaiti (child) will be due for booster doses of tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough (pertussis). At this visit your tamaiti will also be offered a free vaccination against human papillomavirus (HPV). If they have not been vaccinated against chickenpox (varicella) or had chickenpox, they will also be offered this vaccination. The vaccines are all available at your general practice, and the practice nurse can give them.
HPV immunisation (Gardasil) protects against several types of HPV, which can cause cervical cancer, other cancers and genital warts. It's available to all tamariki (children) and rangatahi (young adults) aged from 9 to 26.
A school-based programme is also available during year 8. This is offered to all year 8 tamariki at participating schools. Consent forms for the school-based HPV programmes are sent to parents at the beginning of term 1. If you want your tamaiti to take advantage of this programme, you'll need to return the completed form to the school.
Meningococcal disease
Free vaccinations are available for groups of people with a high risk of meningococcal disease. This includes young people aged 13 to 25 entering communal accommodation such as boarding school hostels, tertiary education halls of residence, military barracks and prisons. They also recommend but do not fund vaccinations for other groups of people. See Immunisation against meningococcal disease for details.
HealthInfo recommends the following videos
- Manatū Hauora – Ministry of Health
- Immunisation – Year 7 – protection against tetanus, diphtheria and whooping cough
- Immunisation – Year 8 – protection against HPV
These videos tell year 7 and 8 tamariki about the vaccinations.
This video is for parents and has information about the human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical cancer.
HealthInfo recommends the following pages
- Health Information and Services – Immunisations for school-aged children
Information about vaccinations that are recommended for school-aged tamariki.
On the next page: HPV & cervical cancer vaccine
Written by HealthInfo clinical advisers. Last reviewed July 2021.
See also:
Review key: HIIMM-47872
