DHB Pacific Health lead Talalelei Taufale at the Covid 19 vaccine jab centre, Cook Islands Hall, in Flaxmere. Hawke's Bay's Pacifica community has reached a 100 per cent vaccine rate. Photo / NZME
What a difference six days make.
After a quiet long weekend, Hawke's Bay has picked up the vaccination momentum again.
Last Tuesday, 120,705 people had been vaccinated once in Hawke's Bay.
The Magic Number to get to 90 per cent double vaxxed is 131,014 out of our eligible population of145,571.
At the current rate (426.5 a day) we'd hit a single vax target in 18 days - on or around November 20.
Suddenly, we are heading toward a 90 per cent single vax target three weeks earlier.
Which consequently means a double vax target looms well before Christmas.
90 per cent double vaccinated is significant - it equals "red light, orange light, green light".
The new traffic light levels have more personal and business freedom associated with them than the old levels.
They also herald the introduction of vaccine mandates that will restrict the personal and work freedom of our non-vaccinated population.
Teachers and health workers are breaking that new ground for all of us, who are also realising that any business that interacts with mandated sectors, are by default, also going to need vaccine mandates.
There is of course dispensation if you have a vaccination certificate and rules around public gatherings etc can be relaxed if they are restricted to certificate holders.