Sam Wallace and Toni Street are encouraging Kiwis to get vaccinated against Covid 19. Photo / Supplied
Sam Wallace and Toni Street are encouraging Kiwis to get vaccinated against Covid 19. Photo / Supplied
"It's not about you necessarily - it's about the people that can't get vaccinated."
That's the message from Coast breakfast presenter Toni Street.
She and co-host Sam Wallace are just two of the people getting behind The 90% Project being run by the Herald which is aiming to see 90 per cent of eligible Kiwis vaccinated by Christmas.
Street, who was diagnosed with rare autoimmune condition Churg-Strauss syndrome in 2015, got her first shot of the Covid-19 Pfizer vaccine as soon as she could after talking to her specialist.
"He said, 'if you get Covid you'll be in big, big trouble' because my autoimmune disease affects the lungs and so does Covid. He said, 'it's an absolute no-brainer - you have to get it done'. So I actually felt quite scared until I had my first vaccine," she told the Herald.
But it was the safety of others, including her three children, that really drove her desire to see the country vaccinated as soon as possible.
"That is actually my biggest concern and would be my biggest reason to tell people to get vaccinated at the moment. We can't get our children vaccinated.
"My kids are all under 12, as so many people's are, and they are completely unprotected.
"When people say, 'we'll get around to it' or 'I'm not scared of getting Covid', it's not about you necessarily - it's about the people that can't get vaccinated. And there are a small group who actually can't for allergic reaction things as well as the children.
"I just think people need to change their thinking a wee bit and think about others and not just the safety of themselves."
Street, who described herself as a "proud Taranaki girl", said she was disappointed in the region's low vaccination rate and hoped people would heed the advice from health professionals.
"The quicker we get around to it, the quicker this country is going to be functioning properly.
"If you were the reason somebody's business couldn't open I think you'd feel really bad about that and that's the reality at the moment - businesses can't operate properly, people can't go and see their families, they can't farewell their loved ones until we all get vaccinated.
"So be a good citizen and put the responsibility on yourself and get it done."
Wallace said it was his family that drove him to get vaccinated straight away.
"The reason I wanted to get vaccinated is because I think it's the safest move for my family.
"We have vulnerable people in my family including my Dad who's had cancer treatment and I've got three young kids and I want to provide them the safest environment to grow up with.
"For me it's trusting in science and trusting in professors who have spent years and years doing this."
Citing data from the Australian state of Victoria as at September 9, Wallace said there were 79 unvaccinated people in hospital with Covid and 12 partially vaccinated people but no one who was fully vaccinated.
"Trust science and trust stats," he said.
Got my covid jab! If you don’t, you’re holding us all back and you are selfish.
#noteventensing
😂😂😂😂
Being able to catch up with mates at the pub was another motivation to get vaccinated, he said.
"There's only one way out of this. We're missing out on life right now and the only way forward is for the vast majority of us to go and get vaccinated so that we can all go and do the things we love," he said.
"If we all work together on this, soon we can go to the pub."
As for the jab itself, there was nothing to be worried about, the pair said.
"The jab was an absolute non-event. You walk in, you don't notice it then you walk out and you're safe. Just get it done," Wallace said.
Street and her husband both got theirs at the local GP and said it was "unbelievably straight forward".
A major reaction to antibiotics which saw Street go into liver failure a couple of years ago made her a little nervous about the potential side effects of the Pfizer vaccine but the anxiety proved unfounded, she said.
Their final word of advice: learn from those who have had the virus.
"Listen to the people who have actually got Covid that haven't been vaccinated and they would do anything to go back in time and get their jab," Street said.
