Waikato Hospital's Opportunistic Immunisation Service coordinator Kim Hunter administered the service's 1000th vaccination to six-month-old Bryan Shortland today.

Bryan today received the Pneumococcal immunisation as well as his second dose in a series of three vaccinations to protect him against Diphtheria, Tetanus, Whooping Cough, Polio, Hepatitis B and Haemophilus Type B.

Mrs Hunter said the 1000th vaccination was a milestone for the hospital considering before the Hospital Opportunistic Immunisation Service's (HOIS) establishment in September 2009, hospital staff were administering about 14 immunisations opportunistically per month, and now they are doing between 60-80.

The HOIS has played a large part in Waikato Hospital exceeding their 80 per cent immunisation target, set by the Ministry of Health to be achieved by July this year, reaching 84 per cent coverage for immunisations in under-two-year-olds, by March - well ahead of schedule.

Mrs Hunter, who administers many of the immunisations herself, has also worked tirelessly over the past nine months to educate and support ward, emergency department, and clinic staff to be able to do the immunisations as required by children whose parents consent.

Taumarunui Hospital is Health Waikato's first rural hospital to pilot the HOIS, with Thames Hospital soon to follow.