Starship Children's Hospital is deferring less urgent cases to cope with a "flood" of very young children in hospital with flu symptoms.
Rowan Quinn of RNZ
Doctors say the free under-fives flu vaccine announced for next year cannot come soon enough and will save lives.
University of Auckland professor of paediatric population health, Cass Byrnes, works as a respiratory specialist at Starship.
The hospital treated children from around the country but was having to put a temporary stop to some of them coming, she said.
That was because, firstly, there were not enough beds for everyone and, secondly, they did not want those children to catch flu in hospital.
There was no treatment for the virus itself, but the children in hospital often needed support for serious symptoms, she said.
"Including supporting feeding, supporting with oxygen, or on occasion needing even more intensive respiratory support. It's... scary for the child and scary for the parents."
Children in this year's outbreak were quite commonly presenting with non-respiratory symptoms like headaches, digestive problems and very high fever, she said.
Byrnes said she could not be more relieved to see the vaccine funded for under-fives.
It would save lives - but it would also prevent some children from developing breathing conditions later - sometimes long after the flu had gone, she said.
It needed to come with a publicity campaign, because parents of the small group of under-fives who were currently entitled often did not realise, she said.
"And also starting [a campaign] early enough so people get a chance to have a think about or see the campaign two or three times in a row before thinking, 'Absolutely - I need to get along there and get a vaccination.'"
Currently, children under five could get a free vaccine if they had previously been hospitalised with a respiratory disease or had another serious condition.
Pharmac estimated about 260,000 more children would be able to be vaccinated for free from April next year.
Official statistics showed children under five were far more likely to be hospitalised or end up in intensive care with flu-like symptoms than any other age group.
Very infectious strain
Porirua GP Dr Bryan Betty, former chair of General Practice NZ, said he was now "running a full-time respiratory clinic separating respiratory patients from non-respiratory", and requesting all patients who come in wear masks, following a "huge upswing in viral influenza A".
"It's very infectious. So, it's no more serious than normal flu, except it's the number of people who are going to get it is a lot larger - and it's a numbers game."
It was hitting Pasifika very hard, Betty said, adding that elderly, pregnant women and people with comorbidities such as diabetes and heart disease were also susceptible.
"If you haven't had a vaccination, it is still absolutely worthwhile going and getting the vaccination. This flu season is very late. We think it is going to run right through into spring. It is not too late to go and get a vaccination."
If you were already sick, stay home was his advice, if possible.
"We've had several of our nurses come down and our GPs come down being unwell, although they did get vaccinated. The thing I'd say about the vaccination, it allows you to have… a less severe version of it in many cases."
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