A Covid-19 vaccination centre. Photo / Bevan Conley
By RNZ
Aotearoa's first iwi-led Covid-19 vaccination centre is opening to the public in Tāmaki Makaurau this week.
The centre run by Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei is based in the suburb of St Johns.
Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei trust board member Tama Davis said they hoped to bolster the number of people from Māori, Pacific and other minority communities getting vaccinated.
Davis, who is also an Auckland District Health Board member, said they hoped to provide up to 150 vaccinations a day.
The centre started with a trial run last week offering vaccinations to dozens of kuia and kaumātua, and will open to the public on Wednesday.
Most of the 40 staff at the centre were hapū members, Davis said.
The centre would have childcare and other social services, so those visiting had all they needed, he said.
"The vaccination is just one point in the journey of hauora."
Davis said a coordinated effort had been required to set up a vaccination centre run by iwi, for iwi, but they were thankful to be launching.
"Like anything, iwi and Pasifika-led entities always have to prove that there's a capability and capacity to be a viable option for our DHBs.
"It took a little bit of time.
"It was the effort of the collective iwi within the region."
Appointments can be made through the Northern Region Covid-19 vaccination website.
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