Lakes DHB has reached the 90 per cent fully vaccinated milestone. Photo / Andrew Warner
Lakes DHB has reached the 90 per cent fully vaccinated milestone. Photo / Andrew Warner
The Lakes District Health Board region has reached the 90 per cent fully vaccinated milestone for people aged 12 and over.
The Ministry of Health announced the achievement in today's 1pm Covid update, congratulating the DHB.According to Ministry of Health data to midnight on Friday, Lakes had 319 doses to go before reaching 90 per cent double dosed, however, it rounds the percentage up.
The rate for at least partial vaccination was 93 per cent. Of Māori aged 12 and over, 82 per cent were fully vaccinated and 88 per cent at least partially vaccinated.
The DHB says the work is not done and it hopes to lift the Māori rate as well as children newly eligible for vaccination, with the highly transmissible Omicron variant on the doorstep.
Lakes District Health Board chief executive Nick Saville-Wood. Photo / NZME
Lakes District Health Board chief executive Nick Saville-Wood said the DHB wanted to acknowledge the "incredible mahi" in reaching the 90 per cent target.
"The effort has been huge. This is the biggest vaccination programme undertaken in New Zealand."
Saville-Wood said it was a "really collaborative effort" by many, and could not have been done without the "significant support" of iwi, primary health organisations and its practices, pharmacists, DHB staff and communities who believed the vaccine was the best protection for themselves and their whānau.
The goal had always been to ensure Māori communities reached the 90 per cent target alongside the rest of the communities, he said.
"Getting Māori to 90 per cent continues to be our priority and we will work together with our iwi partners to try new innovation to reach those whānau we need to reach this really important milestone."
Asked what obstacles the DHB foresaw with getting the final 10 per cent vaccinated, Saville-Wood said there would "always be a number of people whom we will have difficulty reaching".
"It is hoped that when the benefits of vaccinating are focused on rather than the misinformation we unfortunately see all too often, that there will be more people prepared to come forward and be vaccinated."
In a statement today, the DHB said the work was not quite over.
Chief operating officer Alan Wilson urged parents to get their 5 to 11-year-old children vaccinated now, before school begins.
"Get your children vaccinated before school is back and they are exposed to other children – there's just one week to go."
He said there was plenty of capacity for drop-ins at the Rotorua Immunisation Hub in the Central Mall and at Taupō Immunisation Hub at 6/79 Totara St.
Options for adult doses, including boosters, included the Te Arawa Covid drive-through on Clayton Rd and a range of GPs and pharmacies.
He said Omicron was likely to be in the community "any day" and the forecast numbers were "very worrying".
"There are many places to be vaccinated within the district, there are lots of available vaccinators, and vaccine – it's now urgent," he said.
Te Arawa Covid Response Hub kaumātua Monty Morrison said he was delighted to hit the 90 per cent milestone for the team who worked so hard to get the community to this point.
"I thank them for their energy and dedication in helping to keep our community safe.
"All residents in our rohe can be proud of the contribution they have made to achieving this great result. Through this achievement, we are saving lives."
Morrison wanted to thank frontline health workers, especially those working in MIQ.
"I would like to say to all of our frontline health workers, especially those working in MIQ, we thank you for your service and your personal sacrifices.
"This has not been an easy time and it will continue to be difficult – but your strength and dedication mean that our communities and our most vulnerable are safer."
But Morrison said there was still more work to be done and the hub was aiming for 95 per cent to ensure all whānau are protected.
Morrison said supporting the rollout of the paediatric vaccine and the booster programme were among the hub's priorities moving forward.
"We want to reinforce the message that no one organisation, group, iwi or community can do this alone. However, together we can."
Rotorua mayor Steve Chadwick said reaching the 90 per cent mark was a "fantastic milestone", although it had been a long time coming and the work did not stop now.
Chadwick acknowledged the efforts that went into getting the community vaccinated by the DHB, iwi and others in the local health sector.
"It's a big job and a big responsibility and I think people have in recent weeks responded to the call to get vaccinated alongside growing awareness about the Omicron variant.
"Vaccination is how we protect ourselves and the community and we now need to ensure people stay up-to-date with their vaccinations ... and need to keep working to reach those not already vaccinated.
"It's important that we all remain very vigilant now, given the speed at which Omicron is known to spread."
Six new cases of Covid-19 were announced in Rotorua on Saturday.
A case in Palmerston North and an Auckland Airport worker have both been confirmed to have Omicron. The airport worker has been potentially linked to returnees in Rotorua and Auckland through whole-genome sequencing, the ministry said.
To book a vaccine go to bookmyvaccine.covid19.health.nz
