Shakyra got vaccinated at Life Pharmacy in Bayfair. Photo / Megan Wilson
Bay of Plenty Times is looking back at the stories of 2022. Here’s what made headlines in January:
January 1:
Less stress? Be healthier? Better relationships? As Kiwis set their resolutions for 2022, three Bay of Plenty centenarians shared what they had learned about how to live well in their collective 311 years of experience.
For Tauranga man Doug Bullick compromise and helping others helped him live a “very stressless” 100 years of life.
January 4:
The Bay of Plenty reached the 90 per cent fully vaccinated milestone.
The Ministry of Health 1pm media statement on January 4 said the Bay of Plenty DHB had reached 90 per cent for second doses. However Ministry of Health data also showed as of Tuesday, 921 doses needed to be administered before the district reached the 90 per cent fully vaccinated target.
A Ministry of Health spokesperson said percentages were rounded to the nearest whole number, so may show 90 per cent with a small number of doses still remaining.
Te Puna Ora o Mataatua Charitable Trust chief executive Dr Chris Tooley said reaching 90 per cent was “a wonderful achievement”.
January 7:
One man has died after a group of swimmers got into difficulty at Mount Maunganui.
The man, thought to be in his 50s, was one of four swimmers who were brought to shore by the public and surf lifesavers in the Waiariki St, Arataki area.
“One man was unconscious and was unfortunately unable to be revived, despite the efforts of St John Ambulance paramedics and surf lifesavers,” police said.
January 14:
About 85 per cent of people hospitalised with Covid-19 in the Bay of Plenty District Health Board region during the latest outbreak were not fully vaccinated.
As of January 11, 21 people had been hospitalised with Covid in the Bay - 18 were not fully vaccinated.
The remaining three had received two doses of the vaccine, Toi Te Ora Public Health medical officer of health Dr Phil Shoemack said.
The figures, sourced from the National Contact Tracing Solution system, show vaccination is working a health professor says.
January 19:
An 11-year-old who caught Covid-19 last year said she was “happy” to have been able to get vaccinated at last. Her mother wanted to encourage other parents to have their children vaccinated because “your kids are the most important thing in your life”.
The vaccine for 5-11-year olds became available on January 17, including walk-ins, drive-throughs, hauora providers, community pharmacies and general practices.
Nearly 700 children in the Bay of Plenty District Health Board area were vaccinated on the first day.
Shakyra Bachop-Mauger got her jab on day two, eight weeks after catching Covid-19 and having to isolate from her family at home in Pāpāmoa for two weeks.
January 23:
A Tauranga business owner said the Covid-19 red traffic light setting would “haemorrhage” the Bay of Plenty economy.
On January 22, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the move to the red traffic light setting.
She expected the country to stay at red for “some weeks”.
Waimarino Adventure Park owner Blair Anderson said he was concerned for the overall health of the region’s economy.
“It is going to haemorrhage heavily.”
January 25:
Te Puke 7-year-old Bowden Watkinson has spent a month in hospital but his mum says his family are no closer to understanding what caused his illness.
While he was still facing new challenges, including regaining muscle tone after a month laid up, the generosity of others had given him and his family a reason to smile.
Bowden was rushed to Tauranga Hospital on Christmas Day in terrible pain. Two days later he was admitted to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) at Auckland’s Starship hospital.
Bowden, who lives with cyclic vomiting syndrome, has been in the general pediatric ward since mid-January and his mum, Rebecca Watkinson, expected it to be a “very long road” to recovery.
January 28:
A Bay of Plenty politician described the Government’s three-phase Omicron plan as “rushed” and “underwhelming” and claimed it was not prepared to manage an outbreak.
But a local community health provider believed it was a “sensible” approach to managing limited healthcare resources and prioritising those most vulnerable.
This came as Tauranga City Council is preparing for “significant interruptions to staffing levels” as cases increased in the region.
Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller, of National, said the plan was “underwhelming and very late”.
“You get a very strong sense they are just scrambling to create a facade of managing Omicron as it begins to run through the country,” he said.
“I just think it is frankly appalling. It looks like it has been rushed and quickly put together to try and create the impression they are on top of this. And frankly, they are not.”
Man appears in court after fatal shooting in remote rural location.