Across New Zealand, the air inside hospitals has grown heavier — respiratory admissions have risen 16 percent in three years, reaching nearly 100,000 cases and costing the economy $11.5 billion annually. The burden falls with particular cruelty on the very young, the very old, and on Māori and Pacific communities, whose hospitalisation rates reveal not merely a health crisis but a long-standing failure of equity. Researchers and clinicians are now calling on government to act on what the data makes plain: that many of these illnesses, and many of these deaths, were preventable.
NZ respiratory hospitalisations surge 16% as children and elderly bear brunt
Children and elderly populations bear disproportionate burden of respiratory disease; Māori and Pacific peoples experience significantly higher hospitalisation and mortality rates across respiratory conditions including lung cancer.
Children and older adults are bearing the brunt of respiratory disease
Mark
So we're seeing 97,000 respiratory hospitalisations a year now. That's a real jump from 80,000 three years ago. What's driving it?
Mimi
The report points to respiratory viruses circulating more widely after the pandemic ended. During lockdowns, these viruses barely spread. Now they're back in the community, and hospitalisations have climbed with them.
Luke
But the report doesn't actually say what proportion of that 16% increase is due to post-pandemic viral circulation versus other factors like population growth, aging demographics, or changes in admission thresholds. We know the increase is real, but the cause isn't fully specified.
Mark
Fair point. What about the ethnic disparities? The report shows Māori and Pacific peoples hospitalised at much higher rates.
Mimi
Yes—Pacific peoples at 2.4 times the rate, Māori at nearly twice the rate. And for lung cancer, Māori die at 2.75 times the rate. These gaps have barely changed despite years of policy attention.
Luke
That's the frustrating part. The report documents the disparity clearly, but the underlying causes—whether it's housing quality, air pollution, smoking rates, access to preventive care, or something else—aren't fully unpacked in what we have here.
Mark
The Foundation is recommending the RSV vaccine be funded from April 2027. How significant is that?
Mimi
RSV is the single most common cause of bronchiolitis and viral pneumonia in children. If you can prevent RSV infection, you prevent a huge driver of childhood hospitalisation.
Luke
That's true, but the report doesn't quantify what percentage of childhood respiratory hospitalisations are RSV-related, so we don't know exactly how much the vaccine would reduce overall admissions.
Mark
And the economic cost—$11.5 billion a year. Is that just direct healthcare spending?
Mimi
It includes hospitalisation, treatment, and broader economic effects. It's up $3 billion from the previous three-year period.
Luke
The report doesn't break down that $11.5 billion figure by category, so we don't know how much is direct healthcare versus lost productivity or other indirect costs. That matters for understanding where intervention would have the most impact.
Il Polso
- Respiratory hospitalisations have surged from 80,230 to 97,151 in just three years, a 16% rise that signals the health system is absorbing a growing and costly wave of preventable illness.
- Children under 15 and adults over 65 account for roughly 70% of all admissions, concentrating the crisis at the most vulnerable ends of the age spectrum.
- Māori are hospitalised for lung cancer at nearly three times the rate of other New Zealanders, and Pacific peoples face bronchiectasis hospitalisation rates more than seven times higher — disparities that years of policy attention have failed to close.
- The post-COVID return of circulating respiratory viruses has driven much of the recent spike, with experts warning that New Zealand's vaccination and prevention infrastructure is not keeping pace.
- The Cardiac and Respiratory Foundation is pressing government to fund the RSV vaccine from April 2027, enforce housing standards, and launch a national lung cancer screening programme — concrete levers that could begin to bend the curve.
Across New Zealand, the air inside hospitals has grown heavier — respiratory admissions have risen 16 percent in three years, reaching nearly 100,000 cases and costing the economy $11.5 billion annually. The burden falls with particular cruelty on the very young, the very old, and on Māori and Pacific communities, whose hospitalisation rates reveal not merely a health crisis but a long-standing failure of equity. Researchers and clinicians are now calling on government to act on what the data makes plain: that many of these illnesses, and many of these deaths, were preventable.
New Zealand's hospitals are admitting far more respiratory patients than they were three years ago. Between 2022 and 2025, cases climbed from 80,230 to 97,151 — a 16% population-adjusted increase — with children under 15 and adults over 65 together accounting for roughly 70% of all admissions. The findings come from a report commissioned by the Cardiac and Respiratory Foundation NZ and prepared by University of Otago researchers.
The economic toll has grown alongside the human one. Respiratory disease now costs New Zealand approximately $11.5 billion annually, up $3 billion from the previous reporting period. For the first time, the report includes thoracic cancer in its accounting: lung cancer alone caused nearly 2,000 deaths in 2022 and led to 3,477 hospitalisations in 2025.
The data exposes entrenched inequity. Pacific peoples are hospitalised for respiratory conditions at 2.4 times the rate of other New Zealanders; Māori at nearly twice the rate. For lung cancer, Māori die at 2.75 times the rate of others. Bronchiectasis presents a particular crisis for Pacific communities, who are hospitalised for it at more than seven times the rate of the general population.
Foundation chief executive Letitia Harding called the findings a clear call to action, pointing to the RSV vaccine — the most common cause of bronchiolitis and viral pneumonia in children — as a concrete intervention if funded from April 2027. Professor Bob Hancox, the Foundation's respiratory medical director, linked much of the recent surge to the post-pandemic return of circulating viruses, noting that many cases remain preventable through vaccination and basic public health practice.
The Foundation's recommendations span vaccination, housing quality, school asthma readiness, smoking cessation, and a targeted national lung cancer screening programme from the 2027 budget — each aimed at the communities and conditions carrying the heaviest load.
New Zealand's hospitals are admitting far more patients with respiratory disease than they were three years ago. Between 2022 and 2025, respiratory hospitalisations climbed from 80,230 to 97,151 cases—a 16% increase when adjusted for population size. The surge has fallen hardest on the very young and the very old. Children under 15 and adults over 65 together account for roughly 70% of all respiratory admissions, according to a new report commissioned by the Cardiac and Respiratory Foundation NZ and prepared by researchers at the University of Otago.
The economic weight of this trend is substantial. Respiratory disease now costs the New Zealand economy approximately $11.5 billion annually, up by $3 billion compared to the three years before the report period. That figure encompasses hospitalisation, treatment, lost productivity, and the broader cascade of effects that flow from illness in the community. For the first time, this latest report includes thoracic cancer in its accounting of respiratory disease burden. Lung cancer alone caused nearly 2,000 deaths in 2022 and led to 3,477 hospitalisations in 2025.
The data reveals a pattern of health inequity that has persisted despite years of policy attention. Pacific peoples are hospitalised for respiratory conditions at 2.4 times the rate of other New Zealanders. Māori face hospitalisation rates nearly twice as high. When it comes to lung cancer specifically, Māori die at 2.75 times the rate of other New Zealanders, and Pacific peoples at 1.52 times the rate. Bronchiectasis—a chronic lung condition—presents a particularly acute crisis for Pacific communities, who are hospitalised for it at more than seven times the rate of others and die from it at more than five times the rate.
Letitia Harding, chief executive of the Cardiac and Respiratory Foundation NZ, framed the findings as a call to action. The youngest and oldest populations are bearing the brunt of respiratory disease in New Zealand, she said, and the government needs to respond now. For children, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the single most common cause of bronchiolitis and viral pneumonia, driving a substantial portion of childhood hospitalisations. Harding pointed to the RSV vaccine as a concrete intervention: if the government commits to funding it from April 2027, the statistics could begin to shift.
Professor Bob Hancox, the Foundation's respiratory medical director, attributed much of the recent increase to patterns that emerged after the COVID-19 pandemic. During lockdowns and strict public health measures, respiratory viruses circulated far less widely. Hospital admissions and deaths from respiratory disease fell. But as those measures ended, the viruses returned to circulation, and hospitalisations and mortality have climbed again. Hancox emphasised that many of these cases are preventable. Vaccination against influenza and RSV, combined with basic practices like avoiding contact with unwell people, can reduce transmission significantly. The challenge, he said, is that New Zealand is not currently doing this effectively.
The Foundation has issued a series of recommendations to address the crisis. It is calling on the government to invest in educational resources and programmes tailored to Māori and Pacific communities; to fully enforce Healthy Homes Standards through independent accredited assessments; to ensure all schools are equipped to manage asthma; to fund the RSV vaccine for all babies and infants starting in April 2027 while continuing free flu vaccination for children under five; to set a new national target for a nicotine-free Aotearoa; and to fund a targeted national lung cancer screening programme from the 2027 budget. Each recommendation targets a specific lever—vaccination, housing quality, school readiness, smoking cessation, early detection—that could reduce the burden on the health system and on the communities bearing the heaviest load.
Citazioni salienti
Children and older adults are bearing the brunt of respiratory disease in New Zealand, so the Government needs to act now.— Letitia Harding, Chief Executive, Cardiac and Respiratory Foundation NZ
Many of these hospitalisations could be prevented if we stopped the spread of respiratory viruses like we did during the pandemic. Unfortunately the viruses are back in circulation and respiratory hospitalisations and mortality rising again.— Professor Bob Hancox, Respiratory Medical Director, Cardiac and Respiratory Foundation NZ
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