From secondary prevention to primary prevention: a unique strategy that gives hope to a country ravaged by meningococcal disease

Through the collaborative efforts of a government agency, vaccine company, university and laboratory institute, clinical trials of the Chiron produced outer membrane vesicle (OMV) strain-specific MeNZB™ vaccine were run in rapid succession. The delivery of MeNZB™ will be New Zealand's largest immunisation programme with three doses given at 6-week intervals to over 1 million people aged 6 weeks-19 year olds inclusive. Planning, co-ordinating and delivering the immunisation programme is a challenging project for the New Zealand Health Sector.