Pasifika smashing shots target

The Pasifika community across Te Tauihi (the top of the South) is leading the charge for vaccination in Aotearoa.

Ministry of Health data shows that more than 95 per cent of Pacific people in the Nelson Marlborough District Health Board area have been fully vaccinated – with more than the recorded population having had both jabs.

The Pacific population in the region is 2115, but 3088 people had received both their Covid-19 vaccinations by midnight Sunday.

As of yesterday, the vaccination level for the Nelson Marlborough DHB area had reached 85 per cent first doses, and 73 per cent second doses. This was up from 83.5 per cent first and 70.3 per cent second doses last Monday.

Last week the Government announced a 90 per cent target to enter a new ‘‘traffic light’’ Covid management system, with widespread use of vaccination certificates.

Nelson Tasman Pasifika Community Trust chairman Sonny Alesana said the vaccination success for Pacific people was something to celebrate. ‘‘We’re doing a great job here.’’

Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) workers getting vaccinated in the region had pushed the numbers past the expected population, which meant the vaccination was reaching beyond the local community, he said.

The success in the Pasifika community was down to strong partnerships with health workers, as well as working to push information rather than the vaccine, Alesana said.

On Super Saturday on October 16, the trust team, alongside Te Piki Oranga¯, held an information event at Nelson Intermediate School, where people could ask questions without pressure. They had also worked closely with local churches.

Pacific peoples, as well as Māori, had a history of inequity in the health system, and it was important to acknowledge this when talking about the vaccine, Alesana said. ‘‘We have a history of loss in our community, especially around the influenza that happened in the 1900s.’’

It was going to get ‘‘harder and harder’’ to reach the last 5 per cent, but it was important to help people access the right information, he said.

‘‘It’s not about judging people, it’s about supporting as many people as we can.’’

He encouraged people who were unsure to talk to their wha¯nau and people they could trust, such as local doctors. ‘‘Get some information, so you can make up your own mind.’’

It was also important to keep being kind to each other, he said.

General manager for Nelson Bays Primary Health, Charlotte Etheridge, said vaccination clinics were busy over the long weekend, particularly as younger people aged between 12 and 34 were spurred into action following the positive case in Blenheim on Saturday – the first community case in the South Island since 2020.

‘‘It’s come closer to home, and they don’t want another lockdown,’’ she said.

Many of the people coming through the clinics were also teachers and health workers who had to get the jab due to vaccination mandates, Etheridge said.

The roll-out continued to focus on making the vaccine as accessible as possible, with pop-up clinics planned this week at schools, Nelson New World supermarket and parks, and in Tapawera.

‘‘Sometimes, accessibility is the key to getting it done, so we’re just trying to accommodate that and understand the busy nature of everyone’s lives.’’