The Tāmaki vaccination centre in St Johns, Auckland is pulling an all-nighter tonight to target those who are otherwise unable to get the jab.
Spearheaded by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei, the centre opened at 8am today and will remain open until 6.30am tomorrow.
Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Whai Māia CEO Rangimarie Hunia says the aim of the drive is to reach people who work at night or late in the evening,
"We know that for many of our families, getting the vaccine during the day is just not a reality.
"So we are going after that crowd, and the night owls like my kids, the ones that sleep all day and are up all night."
It's business as usual at the centre during the morning and mid-afternoon. However, Hunia says things are looking to ramp up as the night goes on, with a DJ lined up, along with a free sausage sizzle, ice cream, and pizza. They expect at least 200 people throughout the night.
"We've had people booking in at midnight and people booking in at half-past three in the morning. This whole initiative came from night shift workers asking us to do something like this.
"We want it to be light, we want it to be a bit of fun, and we want to create more opportunities for our young people to be able to come into spaces that are safe."
New Zealand had a record vaccination day yesterday, with the largest number of second doses ever administered.
"Our total doses administered of 82,303 ranks in the top-10 highest daily totals since the programme began and is the highest daily figure since September 3," public health director Dr Caroline McElnay said.
It was also a record day for Māori vaccinations, with 10,145 doses administered.
"I want to acknowledge the efforts of Māori providers and communities to support people to access vaccination," McElnay said.
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