New Zealand actress Rena Owen urges Northlanders to get vaccinated against Covid-19 to protect the region's most vulnerable. Photo / File
New Zealand actress Rena Owen urges Northlanders to get vaccinated against Covid-19 to protect the region's most vulnerable. Photo / File
New Zealand acting legend Rena Owen is urging Northlanders to get vaccinated against Covid-19 to protect the region's most vulnerable residents and to get back to "a kind of normality".
Speaking from Los Angeles, the Once Were Warriors star, who grew up in Moerewa, said the subject of vaccination – an area Northland is lagging behind in compared to much of New Zealand - had to be treated with "aroha and diplomacy".
Owen, who has been double dosed, said though getting the vaccine was a personal choice, she encouraged people to "save lives".
"You may never get it or you may get it and recover, but you may get it and die," she said.
"If you get Covid it can kill you and that's the question you have to ask yourself. Do you want to risk your life?
"Particularly for Māoridom because we do live in rohe where there are extended families living together – it's the little people and our elders, they're the ones who are vulnerable.
"If you can't do it for yourself, do it for your loved ones. I love life so I'm not going to take any risks."
Owen made the comments on the eve of NZME's new campaign called The 90% Project, which launched yesterday.
The aim of the project is get at least 90 per cent full vaccination against Covid-19 in our eligible population by Christmas.
The campaign is presented by the Northern Advocate, NZ Herald, Newstalk ZB, Bay of Plenty Times, Rotorua Daily Post, Hawke's Bay Today, Whanganui Chronicle and NZME's community papers.
A big focus of the campaign 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.
Owen, who qualified as a registered nurse between 1979 and 1982 before making it in Hollywood, said there were "still a lot of deaths" from coronavirus in the United States, "but the majority of people are getting vaccinated".
Rena Owen says she's "not taking any risks" when it comes to Covid-19. Photo / File
"I can't think of a good excuse not to.
"That's the price we pay to get back to a kind of normality.
"I appreciate the gift of life and I didn't want to mess with that.
"It's quite selfish if people choose not to get vaccinated. You're putting not just yourself but your family at risk."
There are 152,225 Northlanders aged 12 and over who are eligible for the Pfizer vaccine.
As of yesterday, 55,554 people have received both doses, and 97,969 people have received their first dose.
Northland District Health Board chief executive Nick Chamberlain says vaccination is important from a health and social perspective.
The big concern of Covid-19 is its "massive impact" on the health system, effectively shutting it down, he says.
This means the wait for patients needing other health care, such as hip replacements, cataract surgeries and some cancer treatments, is prolonged.
Northland District Health Board chief executive Nick Chamberlain says "our only long-term defence is vaccination." Photo / File
"We've seen the impact of Covid-19; our only long-term defence is vaccination. We can't keep going into lockdown.
"The impact on the health system and financial system is huge – the fact no one can have any fun, you can't go out, socialise and go to concerts.
"Vaccination is our way of gaining freedom again."
Chamberlain said some Northlanders might be hesitant to get the vaccine because of misinformation on social media and because the population "challenges the status quo".
The anti-vaccination movie Vaxxed, launched in Kaitaia and screened around Northland in 2017, could also be a factor, he said.
"There is resistance to what some see as 'the system'. This vaccination is seen as part of the system.
"In fact, the vaccination is all about freedom; freedom to do what you want and for us to continue to provide health services.
"This vaccine is not experimental, it's been carefully developed. Though timeframes seem short, they had already been preparing the vaccination for many years because of the Sars epidemic in 2003.
"Work has been going on for years. It's one of the most widely used vaccinations in the world."
Experts have warned there could be thousands of deaths in New Zealand once the borders open and restrictions are eased, unless vaccinations top 90 per cent. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Vaccination coverage using the latest Ministry of Health data shows Northland is lagging behind 14 other New Zealand districts in terms of fully vaccinated residents.
Only 26 per cent of Northlanders are fully vaccinated compared to the national average of 34 per cent.
A big focus of the campaign 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.
Ngāti Kuri Trust Board chairman Harry Burkhardt said vaccination was a crucial part of iwi and hapū protecting themselves.
Burkhardt, who is also Tai Tokerau Te Kahu o Taonui pandemic response chair, said his organisation was looking closely at what could be done to further boost iwi/hapū vaccination figures.
"Our message has consistently been stay at home, be safe, get vaccinated and get tested", he said.
"I encourage everyone to get vaccinated to keep our uri and whakapapa safe."
"We're encouraging our people to get vaccinated because we know from the evidence around the world, that even if you got vaccinated at 70 per cent there's still significant risk," Burkhardt said.
"Data is telling us we need to be 90 per cent to keep our communities safe and not put our health system under pressure."
Owen also pointed to the 1918 influenza pandemic where Māori died at a rate seven times that of non-Māori.
Her grandmother and an uncle both died of that virus.
NZME titles including The Northern Advocate have joined forces to work for at least 90 per cent full vaccination against Covid-19 by Christmas.
"That was our Covid," she said.
"It's horrible for your loved ones who've been left behind."
Owen said she couldn't work if she wasn't vaccinated, and she also decided to get it because she's in the vulnerable over-50 age bracket.
She felt reassured the Pfizer vaccine was FDA-approved.
"I feel very secure and safe living a relatively normal life because I have been vaccinated. I didn't feel anything after the first shot. I felt a bit of fatigue the second time, which is a minor side effect."
Experts have warned there could be thousands of deaths in New Zealand once the borders open and restrictions have eased unless vaccinations top 90 per cent.
At 90 per cent, hospital admissions would still rise and people will still die from Covid, but these numbers would be much worse at lower rates of vaccination.
Immunisation Advisory Centre director Dr Nikki Turner said the key was to vaccinate as many people as possible, regardless of targets.
"If you get 90 per cent, you could do 91 per cent. We should aim for the best we can get."
Chamberlain said he was "really happy" with the ongoing work being done by medical staff at various vaccination sites and behind the scenes.
"This is actually a community problem, not a health problem.
"We need our community to encourage people to get to those sites...we need to work together on this."
Northland numbers explained
Northland District Health Board chief executive Nick Chamberlain explains why getting at least 90 per cent of Northlanders vaccinated is vital.
Scientific modelling shows if 70 per cent of Northland's population was vaccinated, we would have 60,000 to 80,000 cases of Covid-19 over the following two years.
The number of hospitalisations would peak at any one time at about 200. Over that time over 100 Northlanders would die.
