One parent reaching out to you all...
Dear Principal and Board of Trustees
In February of this year, my daughter died of Meningitis, or more specifically, Meningococcal Septicaemia. Although she was a 19 year student in her second year of study at the University of Canterbury, this disease impacts young people of all ages and kills up to 10 people in New Zealand every year.
The loss of our darling daughter has devastated our family, but it was terribly tragic to discover that we could have protected her if we had known about the vaccination. Although there is a small cost for the vaccination, for many families it is free.
I am writing to ask that you contact your parent community and make them aware of the availability of the vaccine and the need to vaccinate. This request is supported by the Royal New Zealand College of GP's who are also trying to increase the rate of vaccination by communications with all New Zealand GP's.
Some schools in New Zealand are already sending out emails to their parent community and an example of one of these from a secondary school is given below. Please feel free to copy it if the wording is appropriate for your school. The message can be short and the attached brochure can provide the necessary detail.
Dear Parent/Caregiver
Meningitis is a dangerous bacterial infection that can be life-threatening and deadly in just a few hours. People who survive meningococcal disease often have serious long-term effects.
The Ministry of Health recommends that young people living in close together in places such as halls of residence be immunised against meningitis. Please find attached the Ministry of Health's brochure regarding meningitis and vaccines available to your child as they perhaps move on with their tertiary education and will be flatting or living in halls of residence.
Kind regards
Please also note that hard copies of this brochure are available free through the HealthEd website as follows:
Thank you for reading this email. Please take action. You could save the life of one of your students.