Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern talks with Thelma Blake about her Covid vaccine at Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga in Hastings. Photo / Warren Buckland
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern talks with Thelma Blake about her Covid vaccine at Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga in Hastings. Photo / Warren Buckland
Maraenui and Flaxmere have the lowest vaccination rates of any suburb in Hawke's Bay.
Health groups and councils are now ramping up their vaccination push to address the alarming rate in the two areas.
That includes plans to go from neighbourhood to neighbourhood with a barbecue and mobile clinic inFlaxmere and plans to open up a new pop-up clinic in Maraenui.
It comes as Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern visited Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga in Hastings and also Wairoa on Friday to promote the importance of getting vaccinated.
New data has been released breaking down every suburb's vaccination rate across Hawke's Bay.
Napier suburb Maraenui (52 per cent) and the Flaxmere suburbs of Lochain Park (55 per cent), Flaxmere West (52 per cent) and Flaxmere South (58 per cent) have the lowest rates in Hawke's Bay when it comes to the eligible population receiving their first dose.
Maungataniwha-Raupunga near Wairoa has the next lowest rate for Hawke's Bay with 59 per cent of the eligible population receiving their first dose.
Anne Baxter, a registered nurse, gives Ina John the Covid vaccination at a drive-in vaccination in Flaxmere in August. Photo / Paul Taylor
The Napier City Council confirmed it was now planning on opening up a walk-in clinic at Maraenui Rugby Club from Saturday, October 16, in conjunction with health organisations.
Napier councillor Sally Crown, who represents the Nelson Park ward, said the vaccination station in the heart of Maraenui would help encourage families to get vaccinated.
"It'll be an informal, relaxed, comfortable atmosphere where people don't need to book ahead, they can just come and our people will look after them," she said.
Hastings councillor Henare O'Keefe, who represents the Flaxmere ward, said a lot had been done to encourage people in Flaxmere to get vaccinated including offering free hangi during clinics at Totara Health in Flaxmere.
"Despite all of our endeavours, the rates are still too low in my opinion."
He said the council had spoken this week about potentially taking their large barbecue, known as Tunu Tunu, around the Flaxmere community with a mobile vaccination clinic.
"We are suggesting we will go to the streets as we have always done and have our barbecue and perhaps have a mobile vaccination clinic right there."
O'Keefe, who wrote a vaccination song to encourage his own grandchildren to get the jab, encouraged residents to get out and get vaccinated.
A testing clinic in Hawke's Bay.
"For me vaccination is the way out of this," he said. "This is a matter of life and death as far as I'm concerned."
He said he did not know exactly why Flaxmere's rate was so low but there were a lot of "keyboard medical experts" who were pushing back at getting vaccinated and also those who were afraid of needles.
Hastings Mayor Sandra Hazlehurst said it was great to see plenty of people out on Friday in Hastings getting the jab during the Prime Minister's visit.
She encouraged the Flaxmere community to head to Totara Health between 9am and 1pm on Saturday for the drive-through vaccination clinic where there will be free fruit and veges and a free sausage sizzle for people getting a jab.
