The 90% Project: ZM's Clint Roberts on the Covid vaccine hype and doing it for his kids

Getting vaccinated against Covid is about protecting those who can't protect themselves, according to ZM's Clint Roberts.

That and not having to queue up 50 cars deep for McDonald's.

The co-host of ZM's drive show got his second Pfizer vaccination on Wednesday in an effort to boost the country's numbers and do his bit to support The 90% Project - a Herald campaign which aims to see 90 per cent of eligible Kiwis vaccinated before Christmas.

"I got myself really caught up in the national hype of trying to get to that number - that 90 per cent.

"I'm the sort of person who checks the graph every day and is like, 'Oh, we've only had 49,000 vaccines today. How can we get the numbers up there? What Instagram post can I do to get the numbers up there?' Then I thought, 'I can just bring my own second jab forward'. I'm just getting on the bandwagon. I'm just trying to get the number up."

But the importance of being vaccinated really hit home for Roberts when he heard Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern point out that children can't get vaccinated.

"Even though they're talking about giving the Pfizer vaccine to kids from 5 onwards, kids below that can't get it but they can get Covid. Having young kids myself, the idea of them catching the virus, be it the Delta variant or whatever horrific variant there is to come after this because these things keep mutating, I just think we've got a responsibility to protect people who can't protect themselves."

Double masked and double jabbed 🤙🏽 Had to crop out the rest of my guns because they're just too big and hot. Quite tanned too, for September. Must be the vaccine, you should try it... 💪🏽🔥

Posted by Clint Roberts on Wednesday, September 22, 2021

Roberts said getting both doses was an incredibly easy experience. His only concern was the lack of people at the vaccination centre when he got his second jab on Wednesday.

He said he was in and out in 17 minutes - including the 15-minute wait after getting the vaccination.

"From a 'we've got to get vaccinated point of view', I'd love to see a bit of a longer queue there," he said.

Roberts said Auckland was "killing it" with its 81 per cent vaccination rate so far and while he acknowledged the last 20 per cent was likely to be slower he was confident.

"People will do it. I believe in us."

As for those whose reservations had held them back so far, Roberts encouraged them not to pay attention to social media posts but trust the science.

"This thing is not in a trial phase, it's not in a testing phase, it's in a having been applied to hundreds of millions of people phase. So if you're scared about that stuff you can take reassurance in the fact it's been tried, it's been tested, it's working."

Got my first vaccination today! It was very straightforward and probably the smallest needle I've ever seen, girth-wise....

Posted by Clint Roberts on Friday, July 30, 2021

If it was the needles scaring you off, he offered two possible solutions.

"[The vaccinators] can do the, 'look over there' and distract you and jab you thing if you want - like they do to kids - but that might scare you even more. You might want to do a countdown like a bungy jump.

"Take the leap of faith - and then when you've done it be really proud of yourself and post about it and talk about it and celebrate it because you've done an awesome thing. It's not just for you - you're doing it for everybody else."

For those still not convinced, Roberts offered one final incentive for people to take the plunge before Christmas.

"Let's not get locked down again. Let's go to concerts, let's go to the beach, let's never have to queue up 50 cars deep for McDonald's ever again.

"This has been painful enough in the depths of winter. Can you imagine not being able to go to the beach? Or not being able to go to Mitre 10 and buy an inflatable pool because you're roasting in your own backyard."