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Associate Professor El-Shadan Tautolo is Director of
the Pacific Islands Families Study, which has followed the
health and development of 1,398 Pacific children and their
parents since the children were born at Middlemore Hospital
in South Auckland, New Zealand in the year 2000. Based at
AUT, it is the only prospective study specifically of Pacific
peoples in the world. Here he looks at the importance of col-
lective support for immunisation.

Vaccination for our Pacific communities is incredibly
important in safeguarding our health and saving lives, espe-
cially now with COVID-19 spreading around the world.
The islands of the South Pacific, Australia and New Zea-
land have done well in combatting COVID-19.
However, we must remain vigilant and prepare for pos-
sible future outbreaks to occur, while remembering that, if
borders open, the potential spread of the disease could be
catastrophic.
Part of that preparation is the prevention of other infec-
tious illness and ensuring that we are not battling multiple
diseases if COVID-19 spreads.
Nearly two decades ago, the Pacific Islands Families
Study found that initiatives to increase vaccination rates in
Pacific infants in Aotearoa had worked.
However, last year’s deadly outbreak of measles in Sa-
moa shows us that we must not get complacent. Vaccination Associate Professor El-Shadan Tautolo
rates had dropped, leaving the population vulnerable and
resulting in many deaths, particularly amongst infants and
children.
While there is a vaccine to help stop another such trag-
edy, unfortunately with COVID-19 there isn’t one yet. services, were proactive in making appointments with the
Last year’s measles outbreak reinforced the importance clinic.
of acting fast. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in our Although the needles were a little scary for our four kids,
corner of the world, Samoa was one of the first countries to there have been no other issues. We were informed of some
secure its borders. potential side effects, but for us, the risks of not being vac-
I encourage everybody to check with their doctor that cinated are so much greater.
they are fully up to date with all their recommended vac- I also encourage everyone to make a special effort this
cines. We need to ensure our young children especially are year to get the flu vaccine, especially our elders and those
protected. vulnerable and at-risk.
It might be that some of our elderly population just do Studies have shown that Pacific people are more likely to
not know their vaccination status – and we should encourage have ongoing chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease,
them to check. cancer, and chronic respiratory disease, putting us more at
My parents migrated to Aotearoa from the Cook Islands risk of severe health consequences from infectious diseases
and Samoa many years ago. Several close family members like COVID-19. In addition, our immune system does not
had been the victims of some of those illnesses that were want to have to be fighting influenza as well.
vaccine preventable, such as meningococcal disease, and There is no vaccine yet for COVID-19. But if and when
because of this my parents understood the potential conse- there is, and once we confirm it is backed by good science,
quences of not being vaccinated. we need as many of us as possible to be vaccinated, to protect
Similarly, when I became a parent with my own children, not only ourselves, but especially those that can’t be vac-
my wife and I, through the support of government-funded cinated yet.

Islands Business, June 2020 21