N.A.C. Staff Given ’Flu Vaccine

Press, Volume CV, Issue 31018, 25 March 1966, Page 3

N.A.C. Staff Given ’Flu Vaccine

(New Zealand Press Association) NAPIER, March 24. In an effort to reduce time off and sick leave payments the National Airways Corporation is inoculating nearly 1300 staff members throughout New Zealand against influenza.

Air crew staff, however, will not be permitted to re- i ceive the vaccine because the 1 corporation has not been able < to get medical clearance for 1 its use for pilots. A staff officer for the cor- i poration in Wellington, Mr D. ; H. French, said today that i staff members were being ’ given the vaccine for the first i time. Controlled experiments had been made on volunteers in Auckland and Christchurch for two years. One problem was the varying charges doctors made for giving the inoculations. "In Christchurch, for instance, one doctor charged £3O for giving 200 inoculations, while .in Auckland a doctor charged £lO for 100 inoculetions,” Mr French sand.

"There seems to be great confusion in the medical world about what charges ought to be made.” '

Mr French, said the scheme should cost £4OO, but this could be increased when final figures came.in. Only volunteers were being given the vaccine, and of-the 2000 etMMe for inoculation 700 badvefuMd.

“We expect it will take 100 days which would be normally lost by members being off duty through illness to recoup the expense of the vaccine,” Mr French said. “But we have no fear that this won’t be achieved. In experiments carried out in Christchurch, it was shown that days off for illness were cut by one-third.”