A public health expert's slamming the Government's handling of measles, as the number of cases climb

The national tally is now at 16, with more than 10-thousand doses of the MMR vaccine have been delivered since last month, and an awareness week starting tomorrow.

But Auckland University Public Health Professor Collin Tukuitonga says Health New Zealand should've been more proactive.

He says immunisation needed to be promoted, as soon as contact-tracing faltered.

Mr Tukuitonga says transmission spreads fast as vaccination rates lag.