Editorial: Covid-19 coronavirus: Why the slowpoke vaccination roll-out?

Manurewa Marae vaccination centre. Photo / Michael Craig, File

EDITORIAL

Anecdotally, New Zealand has had the jitters about the Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine roll-out pretty much since the first Pfizer batch landed.

Regular letters in newspapers shared experiences of difficulties with getting appointments for the jab, some were unable to get anywhere near a vaccination centre.

Soothing voices from the Beehive assured all was well and the programme was proceeding more or less as planned. Eventually, the Government arranged fresh data to be released and updated on vaccinations. The data showed the nation was variously at several percentage points above the target for deployment of the vaccine.

This week, however, the real picture emerged. Auckland was 23,000 behind schedule. Other regions are just a few hundred behind, and apparently closing in fast on their targets.

It is clear that something has gone wrong in our largest city. Auckland Metro, the term given to the three district health boards, is 22,769 short of the target.

Auckland University vaccinologist Dr Helen Petousis-Harris says it is more of a concern that these numbers are only estimates from the district health boards. "We really need to advance this."

Director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield admits the roll-out could be further slowed or even paused if the next order, due in July, doesn't arrive. Mind you, he's confident it'll be here. Based on the current rate, we'll be out of doses by the time the July consignment is due.

So the admission is there of a lag in administering doses, and a concession that supplies might run out.

We are not in dire need to vaccinate at the rate of overseas territories overrun by infections but surely we need to step things up. Otherwise, what's the point of setting targets?