Whakawhiti Ora Pai general manager Errol Murray and clinical manager Maureen Allan at their clinic in Te Kao. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Whakawhiti Ora Pai general manager Errol Murray and clinical manager Maureen Allan at their clinic in Te Kao. Photo / Peter de Graaf
A spike in Northland's Māori vaccination rates has delighted the region's healthcare providers who hope the tide keeps turning.
Concern about rising Covid-19 cases in the Far North was tipped as the catalyst boosting the demand for vaccinations and tests - especially at the country's northernmost tip.
Seven more Covid cases were confirmed in Northland yesterday, plus a further case under investigation.
Three of them were in Dargaville, three in the Far North - including one in Kaitāia - and one in Whangārei. All are in isolation and linked to existing cases.
There have been 36 cases in the Delta outbreak, with 11 recovered. One of the active Covid cases has been admitted to Whangārei Hospital.
In addition, four new locations of interest have been made public.
They are Countdown Dargaville on November 5 (12pm-12.45pm), followed by three on November 8 that were the Ahipara Superette in Kaitaia (3.29pm-3.45pm), Pak'nSave Kaitaia (11.58am-12.15pm) and Shackleton's Kaitaia Pharmacy (12.09pm-12.30pm).
Despite the unwelcome news, the Northland District Health Board (NDHB) is delighted about Wednesday's daily vaccination rates.
Māori made up around half of the total 1,517 vaccinations administered in Tai Tokerau on Wednesday, district health board data showed.
Sixty per cent were distributed in the Far North. Of the total vaccinations provided, 508 were first doses; 985 second doses and 24 third doses.
"This is a great result, and the DHB thanks everyone who came forward to be vaccinated," the NDHB said in a written statement.
Currently, 53 per cent of Northland's eligible Māori population are fully vaccinated and 71 per cent have received a first jab.
According to the Ministry of Health, Māori needed 18,532 second doses before 90 per cent of eligible Northlanders were fully vaccinated.
The region has one of the lowest vaccination rates nationwide, with only 69 per cent of residents double-dosed.
Whakawhiti Ora Pai, a health provider based at Te Kao, 65km north of Kaitaia, administered 147 jabs on ''Second Shot Saturday'', three weeks after the nationwide Super Saturday initiative.
General manager Errol Murray said more than 60 of those were first doses.
''So we're very happy with that. Now we just want to keep vaccinating, vaccinating, vaccinating, as well as testing anyone who is symptomatic or concerned that they could be a contact.''
Murray said people in the very Far North were feeling anxious because the latest cases and close contacts were "close to home".
In particular, rumours of a case in Pukenui, 40km north of Kaitaia, had alarmed people on the Aupōuri Peninsula.
That person, however, turned out to be a close contact of the ''Kaitaia cluster'' — centred on Kaingaroa, between Awanui and Taipā — and had since tested negative.
The high vaccination rate at the very top of the Far North can be explained in part by memories of the Spanish flu pandemic, kept alive by memorials such as this at Mareitu Urupā above Te Hapua. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Whakawhiti Ora Pai normally carried out about a dozen Covid tests a day but that jumped to 103 on Wednesday last week, after the top of the Far North went into a snap lockdown.
Murray said the Kaingaroa cases ''did everything right'' by routinely scanning QR codes and isolating once they became unwell.
The Aupouri Peninsula north of Kaitaia already has one of the Far North's highest vaccination rates outside the prosperous east coast towns.
That has been attributed to the marae-based approach taken by Whakawhiti Ora Pai and awareness of the toll the Spanish flu pandemic took on settlements such as Te Hapua.
The Advocate understands one of the Kaingaroa cases attended a birthday celebration at Awanui Hotel from 5.30pm-7.30pm on October 31 before testing positive.
It was, however, a small gathering rather than a large event.
If someone is infected, symptoms generally take a week to 10 days to appear.
