The Ministry of Health is currently making a monovalent (single viral strain) pandemic vaccine available through an early targeted immunisation programme.

Those eligible to receive this single-strain pandemic vaccine are pregnant women, people under 65 years of age (including children) with certain conditions (as for seasonal influenza) or are morbidly obese, and all children aged from 6 months to their fifth birthday enrolled in designated practices that have high proportions of people who are Maori, Pacific and/or from high deprivation areas.

It is being made available through clinics, and eligible people who are interested in receiving the early vaccine can get information about these clinics from their District Health Board. The early immunisation is also available to frontline healthcare workers, including staff in general practices, emergency departments, intensive care units and those who may have direct contact with at-risk patients.

We are on track to start the seasonal influenza vaccination programme in early March. We expect the seasonal influenza vaccine, which contains the current H1N1 pandemic strain and two other influenza strains, will help protect New Zealanders against the flu.

During the week of 15-21 February 2010, overall influenza activity in New Zealand remained at the same low levels as in the previous week. Visits to doctors for influenza-like illness (ILI) nationally remained below baseline. Weekly consultation rates for influenza-like illness in New Zealand, 2008-2010

International situation

On 24 February 2010, the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) determined to maintain the current pandemic status after considering the views of the Emergency Committee and the current epidemiological evidence. The Committee advised the Director-General of WHO that it was premature to conclude that all parts of the world have passed the peak of transmission of the pandemic virus and that additional time and information was needed to provide expert advice on the status of the pandemic. The Committee will convene again in a few weeks to review intervening developments and related epidemiological information.

Most countries in the northern hemisphere have passed the peak of transmission. Other countries are still experiencing a high level of transmission especially in north Africa, east and south Europe, and south and southeast Asia. However, the overall transmission of the pandemic virus at global level is declining.

Since the pandemic began in April 2009, almost all countries have experienced outbreaks of pandemic influenza and nearly 16,000 laboratory-confirmed deaths have been reported worldwide.

WHO's latest update on the global pandemic situation is available on its website: http://www.who.int/csr/don/2010_02_19/en/index.html.