However, Cabinet is currently holding off on making a final decision on mandatory vaccination until health officials provide their advice on the proposal.
Meanwhile, the figures for how many frontline health workers who are vaccinated isn't yet clear, with nine of the country's 20 DHBs having not yet provided information on how many of their staff are vaccinated.
The Whanganui DHB is silent on how many of its staff are vaccinated, despite the government requiring that information in just three days time. Photo / NZME
Whanganui DHB is one of those nine.
The DHB will not comment on why the data wasn't collected beforehand or how much of that information they currently hold.
Last week the Herald reported the Government has given DHBs until August 31 to collect and pass on that information.
The DHB didn't respond to the Chronicle's questions about the level of detail the DHB currently holds on vaccination of its own staff, and instead referred them to the Ministry of Health, which replied with a general statement issued to all media that didn't mention the Whanganui DHB.
According to that statement, a number of DHBs didn't immediately collect staff vaccination figures due to privacy requirements.
"Under privacy legislation, DHBs are required to seek authorisation from individual staff members to record their vaccination status," the Ministry spokesperson said.
"All DHBs are currently working to obtain this information about the vaccination status of their staff, and an update on DHB staff vaccination levels is expected by early next month."
The DHB didn't respond to those questions about why it hadn't previously sought authorisation but said a process to determine the vaccination status of staff was under way.
"Whanganui DHB has requested the vaccination status of all staff, and that information is currently being compiled," a spokesperson said.
Whanganui DHB chief executive Russell Simpson said the DHB was "undertaking a full, thorough examination of all of our staff.
"I can't [provide any other information], other than citing individual privacy concerns around their own health information."
Latest Whanganui testing and vaccine numbers
Meanwhile, more than 100 people were tested for Covid-19 across the Whanganui DHB catchment on Thursday.
The DHB confirmed that 108 people received a test on Thursday, slightly below Wednesday's total of 137 and Tuesday's figure of 136.
The DHB continues to advise anyone with symptoms of Covid-19 or those who have visited a location of interest to present for a test.
It was another day of upwards of 1000 vaccination doses delivered across the Whanganui DHB region.
On Thursday 1070 people received a dose of the vaccine at a number of vaccination clinics and GP practices around the region, including 212 Marton supermarket staff.
Further vaccination clinics for frontline workers are set to take place on Friday evening and over the weekend, with supermarket workers again the target.
As at 8am on Friday, 44,435 doses had been delivered across the Whanganui DHB since the rollout began.
