Mobile vaccination clinics, like this one in Hamilton, are planned in more than 50 locations in Waikato this week. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer
Mobile vaccination clinics, like this one in Hamilton, are planned in more than 50 locations in Waikato this week. Photo / Danielle Zollickhofer
The Waikato DHB mobile vaccination programme is picking up pace with vaccinations offered at more than 50 locations this week.
Some of the clinics are run by the DHB and others by local kaupapa Māori or Pacific providers. Locations all over the Waikato include supermarket carparks, local halls, school grounds, community centres and marae – anywhere the teams can set up a gazebo and put out a couple of chairs.
Central locations such as Hamilton and Cambridge are now highly vaccinated and close to passing 90 per cent of first doses. The Waikato DHB is now increasing focus on rural areas, and other parts of the Waikato with historically lower access to healthcare.
Waikato Covid-19 vaccination programme lead Maree Munro says a mobile effort was part of the vaccine rollout from the beginning, given the large and diverse area Waikato DHB covers.
"Our kaupapa Māori providers went on the road to offer vaccinations in smaller, more remote locations from the start. That's one of the reasons our kaumātua vaccination rate is very strong."
A total of 97.7 per cent of Māori kaumātua and 95.7 per cent of Pacific kaumātua over 65 have had at least one dose.
"The vaccination programme has now expanded to include a larger-scale, more agile mobile model. It means we can respond quickly when the data shows vaccination rates in a particular area are lagging and need a boost."
The mobiles also give people the chance to come and ask questions and have a one-on-one discussion with someone with credible information.
"In some of the smaller areas we go to, having those local and trusted faces at the vaccination site, who people can relate to and be comfortable to ask questions helps people make up their minds," Munro says.
"We want to make it as easy as possible for people to be vaccinated, particularly our most vulnerable. We're at the point in the programme where we are focused on vaccinating hundreds of people, not the tens of thousands when we first started.
"That's going to take a lower-key approach that is very much about talking, providing good information and reassurance, and being in the community."
A key focus of the mobile programme is on increasing Māori vaccination rates by visiting neighbourhoods where Māori vaccinations are particularly low or attending events with high Māori attendance.
As of yesterday, Waikato vaccination sites have delivered 564,088 vaccinations, 86.7 per cent of the eligible population has had one dose and 72.2 per cent are fully vaccinated.
While 72.9 per cent of Māori have received their first dose and 51.6 per cent are fully vaccinated, 90.1 per cent of non-Māori have received their first dose and 77.2 per cent are fully vaccinated.
The mobile clinics are walk-in only. For a full schedule and locations in Waikato click here. Updates are also posted on the DHB's Facebook page.
