Rate My Professor Aleisha Telford

Aleisha Telford is a registered nurse at University of Otago Student Health Services. She runs the meningococcal disease vaccination programme. Registered nurse Aleisha Telford urges vaccinations for young people to counter meningococcal disease amid rising cases in young adults. She notes that very early signs and symptoms resemble other viruses or flu-like illness but can deteriorate rapidly. The meningococcal vaccination is free for everyone aged under 27 who has not had it. Telford emphasizes targeting Māori and Pasifika students over summer when cases rise.

On 20 July 2022, Aleisha Telford and colleagues Rhonda Drummond, Margaret Perley, Katherine Martin, Heather Parnell, and Mel Philip at Student Health Services received a gift basket and certificate from Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand MMR administrator Katie Holmquist. The recognition was for their mahi vaccinating Pasifika students against measles, mumps, and rubella as part of the Southern Measles Campaign. The team administered hundreds of MMR vaccinations that year. Outreach clinics were held at the University's Pacific Islands Centre, Māori Centre, and residential colleges. This effort addressed incomplete vaccination programmes in some Pacific islands lacking mumps coverage and prevented potential outbreaks around the university.