11/04/2026
The flu can be tough, but some whānau are more at risk than others — here’s what you need to know and why a flu shot matters. 👉
🤰Hapū wāhine
🔹Changes in the immune system, lungs, and heart during hapūtanga (pregnancy) make you more vulnerable to severe flu.
🔹Studies show pregnant wāhine with flu are 5 times more likely to end up in hospital than non-pregnant wāhine.
🔹Flu during hapūtanga can increase risks for your pēpi, including premature birth, low birthweight, or perinatal death.
✅ A flu shot protects you, your unborn pēpi, and your newborn for the first 6 months.
👴🏽 Kaumātua (65+)
🔹Immune function naturally declines with age, so rewharewha (flu) hits harder and recovery is slower.
🔹Kaumatua are more likely to develop complications like pneumonia, heart failure, or stroke after flu.
✅ Vaccination reduces the risk of hospitalisation, severe illness, and even death, and repeated yearly vaccination increases protection over time.
🫀🫁 Whānau with long-term medical conditions
🔹If you have conditions like heart disease, diabetes, chronic lung or kidney problems, or a weakened immune system, flu can hit your tinana harder.
🔹It can strain your heart, make breathing harder, disrupt blood sugar, or increase the chance of hospital visits.
✅ Getting vaccinated helps protect your tinana from these serious effects and reduces the risk of hospitalisation.
🧒 Tamariki under 5 years
🔹 Young tamariki are more likely to be hospitalised with severe flu than any other age group.
🔹Complications can include pneumonia, convulsions from fever, or brain inflammation.
✅ Vaccination reduces the severity of illness, hospital stays, and protects the wider whānau from catching flu.
Want to read more about the research behind this? Check out these sources:
immune.org.nz/factsheets/influenza-special-groups I immune.org.nz/factsheets/influenza-pregnancy I immune.org.nz/factsheets/influenza-older-people I immune.org.nz/factsheets/influenza-children
