Auckland's level for partial vaccination is creeping up, getting to 86 per cent. The number of unvaccinated people eligible for shots nationwide has finally dropped below 20 per cent.
After dipping to the 40,000 rungs last week, daily vaccine numbers nationwide began climbing again: 55,673 on Monday, 63,624 on Tuesday, 70,198 for Wednesday and 82,303 for Thursday.
A vaccine drive in the south Auckland Pasifika community delivered 7000 doses in six days.
Despite copping a barrage of criticism over relaxing some restrictions in Auckland with a set of new rules that appeared to please few, Government and health spokespeople also stuck to a focus on jabs.
People were given an unambiguous message all week that getting jabbed was necessary for their health and so they could get back to doing things they enjoy.
Announcements were made about the vaccinated outlook of travel in the near future; on vaccine certificates and when they would be brought in; and where those passes would likely be required over the summer.
People were told that holding off and waiting to see what happens puts others at risk. Already vaccinated people needed to have "The Talk" with jab-hesitant people in their lives.
Where to get a vaccination in Auckland - without a booking
Health authorities now advise that the gap between first and second doses, which in August had widened from three weeks to six, could be shortened again.
The lengthening had been to get some protection to more people, but data from Auckland's outbreak clearly shows the benefit of being double-dosed. Only a fraction of overall coronavirus cases has involved vaccinated people.
On Wednesday, Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins said October 16 would be a "super Saturday" vaccination day, with clinics open during the day and evening.
Hipkins also said there would be a vaccine drive in Auckland suburbs with the highest numbers of unvaccinated people. Maps showing vaccine rates throughout the country were released on Thursday. People can now check how their suburb is faring.
It amounts to the most concerted attempt so far to turbo-charge the rollout.
However, it's occurring as coronavirus cases spread geographically, and the conventional level 3 border in the Waikato headed further south like a slowly moving wave.
As yet there hasn't been a major surge in the overall Delta outbreak since the rest of the country outside Auckland moved to level 2, but it is threatening vulnerable communities and there have been dire warnings if it gets out of hand.
The Ourworldindata.org seven-day rolling average of daily cases does show an uptick from September 27 when it was 15.5 to October 6 when it was 28.8. Yet that 28.8 is exactly the same as it was a month ago on September 8.
Delta's ability to travel south of Auckland may well have caused some unvaccinated people in that region to rethink. There has also been a case in Northland. Whether it was previously considered an Auckland problem that wouldn't affect locals or not, it has got closer to home.
The virus has slipped into groups on the margins of society, including people in gang networks and others struggling within the country's housing crisis. It is burrowing into New Zealand's existing inequities and disproportionately hurting people who can least afford to get it.
One of the major questions hanging over the rollout has been how the country can ensure that no-one still persuadable is left behind.
That includes a whole range of people, from those whom data show are medically vulnerable to the virus, to younger people who may feel less affected by it, to others in remote areas who might think isolation protects them.
And at some stage, children under 12 are likely to be vaccinated and booster shots will also be in the pipeline.
Although the urgent push on vaccines could get the country to 90 per cent in December, the work to reach and convince people to have it is like to continue for months longer.
