The 90% Project aims to get 90 per cent of eligible Kiwis vaccinated by Christmas. Photo / Getty Images
The 90% Project aims to get 90 per cent of eligible Kiwis vaccinated by Christmas. Photo / Getty Images
A major national campaign aimed at getting 90% of eligible New Zealanders vaccinated by Christmas has been launched by NZME media titles - including the Bay of Plenty Times and The New Zealand Herald.
The campaign, titled The 90% Project, is being rolled out across the country, including the Bay of Plenty, to encourage New Zealanders to get their jabs, along with information on how to get vaccinated and ways to encourage others to join.
The 90% Project is being led by the NZ Herald, Bay of Plenty Times, Rotorua Daily Post, Newstalk ZB, Northern Advocate, Hawke's Bay Today, Whanganui Chronicle and NZME's community papers.
It comes as two new locations of interest have been identified in Tauranga after a supermarket truck driver, who tested positive for Covid-19, drove from Auckland to the Waikato and Bay of Plenty regions.
It also comes as new figures show nearly 207,000 vaccinations have been administered in the Bay of Plenty District Health Board area as of September 17.
Bay of Plenty District Health Board Covid-19 incident controller Trevor Richardson said about another 180,000 vaccinations would need to be administered to have 90 per cent of everyone aged 12 and older in the district vaccinated.
About 62,000 more people would need to receive both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, and about 56,000 people would need to receive their second dose, he said.
Commission chairwoman Anne Tolley said she was "fully vaccinated and ready to join the rest of the world". Photo / George Novak
The campaign was launched a day after University of Canterbury modeller Professor Michael Plank was reported as saying that reaching a 90 per cent vaccination target was important to save lives and for the capacity of hospitals.
''The modelling shows that if vaccination rates are in the 70s or low 80s in the eligible population, a large-scale outbreak could still threaten our health service capacity and lead to tens of thousands of hospitalisations and thousands of deaths.
''If we can get into the 90s, the threat will be much smaller and could be limited to a more manageable number of hospitalisations with some additional public health measures."
Over the next few weeks and months, the Bay of Plenty Times will bring you all you need to know about why vaccination protects against Covid, how to get vaccinated yourself and how to help friends and whānau understand why they should do the same.
We'll have interviews with leaders and local people who are getting jabbed.
Labour List MP Jan Tinetti has had her first vaccination and was looking forward to being fully vaccinated. Photo / George Novak
A big focus will be to ensure that under-represented communities, including young people, Māori and Pasifika, get the same high rates of protection as all New Zealanders.
NZME Bay of Plenty regional editor Scott Inglis said the campaign was vital for the region and the rest of New Zealand.
''It is now very clear that vaccinations are critical for New Zealand to move forward so we can manage this tricky and dangerous virus. That's why the Bay of Plenty Times, NZ Herald and our sister newsrooms are right behind this,'' he said.
''We will use every platform and channel available to get this message out and keep it in the public eye. We need people getting their jabs and encouraging others to do the same.''
Bay of Plenty District Health Board chief executive Pete Chandler said the Covid-19 vaccine was the "only solution" to bring back freedom, restore the tourism industry, and most importantly, save the lives of the people we love and care for.
"Getting your first Covid-19 vaccination by Labour Weekend on 23 October – in five weeks' time – will mean you can be fully vaccinated by Christmas," he said.
"We need our collective armour to be in place before our borders are opened. The devastation we've watched from our safely guarded corner of the world has shown us the importance of collective immunity, and what we stand to lose without it."
Chandler said the campaign was one example of Aotearoa pitching in for the team of five million, and thanked NZME for "shining a light" to support the country's largest immunisation programme.
"The Covid-19 vaccine offers us a different future to the hurt and pain we have experienced in 2020 and 2021.
"Please, protect your whānau, and get vaccinated."
Ngāti Ranginui Iwi Society chief executive Melanie Te Arai Tata. Photo / Supplied
Ngāti Ranginui Iwi Society chief executive Melanie Te Arai Tata said achieving a 90 per cent vaccination rate was about education and "having services accessible to communities".
"The way in which we do that for Ngāti Ranginui is through our mobile clinic and we put effort into our communications through multiple platforms so that we can spread the word," she said.
"We can be found from Katikati to Bethlehem to all throughout Tauranga Moana."
Vaccination clinics could be found at marae which allowed for a "comfortable space" with "familiar faces" for Māori to get vaccinated, she said.
"It's really about just having the intimate clinics where whanau are able just to come in – it's like visiting the local dairy rather than going to a big mainstream pub."
Tata said the iwi's mobile services had "three times the amount" of people using them now compared to when they started.
She attributed the increase to the Auckland outbreak, the Delta variant and an understanding of the vaccination process.
"Once a couple of the whānau have been in, it's that word of mouth that is just as important."
Te Manu Toroa Charitable Trust chief executive Patricia Cook. Photo / Supplied
Te Manu Toroa Charitable Trust chief executive Patricia Cook said the trust had noticed a "significant" increase in Māori receiving vaccinations in recent weeks and had increased its capacity to vaccinate during the lockdown.
"We began conducting drive-through vaccinations, which allowed us to vaccinate whole whānau at once," Cook said.
"We averaged almost 100 people a day during this period with our mobile vaccination team, and were also vaccinating between 50-60 per day at our Tauranga clinic."
Cook said the increase was because of the recent lockdown and more people had become eligible for vaccinations.
"[The] rapid spread of the Delta variant created a lot of awareness about the importance of being vaccinated and rid many of us of any complacency we may have had about feeling safe from Covid-19."
Cook said the trust had been running a community vaccination programme since June to encourage Māori to get vaccinated.
"We go out to marae, sports clubs, churches, some of the larger local businesses as well as Tauranga's Pasifika and Sikh communities to vaccinate.
"Our team has been covering the Māori community from Maketu to Otawhiwhi. We also have taken our clinic as far afield as Whakatāne."
Tauranga National MP Simon Bridges got his first vaccination as soon as his age group was permitted to. Photo / NZME
Tauranga MP Simon Bridges, of National, said it was important that everyone who could get vaccinated did.
"It's obviously important for health reasons for people personally, but it will also allow us to get back to a greater degree of some kind of normal.
"Whether that's less lockdowns, hopefully none. And also the chance to have things like gatherings of 50 plus, which is vital for so many businesses, hospitality and retail."
Tauranga City Council commission chairwoman Anne Tolley said the vaccination was important to protect ourselves, to reduce the chance of passing Covid-19 on to family, friends and colleagues, and to enable New Zealand to reach a point where we could consider reopening borders.
Tauranga-based Labour list MP Jan Tinetti said she wanted to see "school communities thriving" and encouraged everyone over 12 to get vaccinated to protect themselves and those who could not be vaccinated.
"Our vaccine rollout is a key part of our Covid-19 response, and vaccinations are continuing safely at all alert levels and everyone aged 12 and over can book theirs now."
Where to get vaccinated
There are lots of options for getting a your Covid jabs in Tauranga, including major centres at 87 First Avenue and at Baypark.
Some GPs and pharmacies also offer vaccinations, and there are also mobile, marae and pop-up options.
