Sue Hina administers Maria Potaka's first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Photo / Bevan Conley
Frontline healthcare workers in Whanganui have started receiving their first doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, beginning tier two of the Government's vaccine rollout in the region.
Those who work in a long-term residential environment, live in long-term residential care and are 16 or over, or are older Māori or Pacific people being cared for by whānau, are also eligible under tier two.
Public health nurse Maria Potaka was the first healthcare worker in the Whanganui region to get a dose.
Potaka, who worked in local Covid-19 community based assessment centres (CBAC) last year, said she was "quite happy" to get vaccinated.
"I thought it might feel different, because it's a different type of vaccine, but it didn't," Potaka said.
"I feel fine."
Anyone who receives the vaccine is required to be monitored for a 20 minute period afterwards, with a second dose administered 21 days later.
There are six doses in each vial.
In terms of the vaccine itself, Potaka said she'd had her reservations "like everyone else", but receiving it meant those she might come into contact with in the future were also safe.
"My son is on his way to work in a quarantine unit and I've got a mokopuna sitting at home, so it's important for me to make sure I'm protecting my family."
Whanganui Regional Health Network (WRHN) immunisation co-ordinator Sue Hina administered Potaka's vaccine, and said the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccine was different to others she had been part of.
"We're trying to make sure we roll it out with a nice, equitable face," Hina said.
"In terms of our rural sites, we will be doing what I call a 'sweep through', to do the frontline staff like GP practices, DHB staff that are there, and emergency people.
"They've all got to have another [dose], 21 days after their first one. That's killed April and May for us, really.
"In town, Jacqui [Pennefather, Whanganui District Health Board infection prevention service manager] is working on those same groups, and most of them will come to this site [Whanganui Hospital]."
It was all right for people "not to feel okay" about getting the vaccine, Hina said.
"Unlike other campaigns, where you're coming out with something everyone knows about, people feel this is still experimental.
"It's about reassuring them that we haven't had a safer vaccine. There have been no absence of volunteers all over the world and there's also plenty of Covid around. That means people can test it.
"People get thrown back out into the Covid countryside and statistics are being gathered about how much protection they have. We'll be a naive country, because most of us won't have had any contact with Covid-19, so it's hard for people to understand here.
"Eventually we'll be opening our borders, so this has to happen. This is the next phase."
Whanganui medical officer of health Dr Patrick O'Connor said people experiencing side effects post-vaccine should be reassured that it was "doing its job".
"It can be uncomfortable for the person, but it is a positive sign that the immune system has gone on alert and is reacting to this antigen that the body has never encountered before," O'Connor said.
"Every vaccine can be associated with some side effects, the most common ones being pain at the injection site, headache, muscle aching and sometimes a bit of fever.
"You most certainly can't get Covid-19 itself from this vaccine."
Whanganui District Health Board chief executive Russell Simpson said the next step for the vaccination programme rollout would be the recruitment of additional vaccinators, and working with health partners to complete locality plans for the Whanganui DHB region.
"The delivery model we have developed for the Covid-19 vaccine rollout is comprehensive," Simpson said.
"Plans include vaccinating at large sites in the city, in the rural towns across the district, with iwi health providers, general practices, health centres and in localities like Ratana and Waverley, as well as smaller settlements along the Whanganui Awa."
The DHB encouraged the public to refer to "reputable sources of information" around the vaccine, Simpson said.
"There is a lot of misguided information on social media about the Covid-19 vaccine, and Whanganui DHB can't moderate what happens on social media. People form an opinion based on information sources, some of which aren't credible.
"We need our community to play their part and only read reputable sources of information to decide whether the vaccine is for them or not."
One of the DHB's health partners is Te Oranganui, whose chief executive Wheturangi Walsh-Tapiata said there had been a lot of hesitance from people regarding the vaccine, including from members of her staff.
"There are still a category of unknowns, and that's because people aren't sure who to listen to and are wanting to see how it's going to roll out in the first instance," Walsh-Tapiata said.
Te Ranga Tupua recognised that their communities might be reticent in regards to the vaccine, Walsh-Tapiata said, so the iwi collective was obligated to give "good, clear, information to help inform their decisions".
"There might be a benefit in our Whanganui rohe rolling out a little bit later than other DHB rohe, because it gives us the opportunity to see what's happening in that space and to formulate our own opinions and decisions."
Whanganui mayor Hamish McDouall said he would be getting vaccinated, but he hoped he would be "lower down on the list".
Like Simpson and Walsh-Tapiata, McDouall stressed the importance of receiving vaccination information from reputable and reliable sources.
"Social media isn't really social discourse, it's just people shouting at each other, and it's not a great medium to get your messages from," McDouall said.
"I don't think I've ever read something on Facebook and thought 'oh, that will change my thinking', or 'what a great strategy those 148 characters have provided for council'.
"It's sad that there's a willingness to believe misinformation, but I still respect people's decisions, much like people's decisions around fluoride."
McDouall said he was supportive of everybody getting vaccinated because it would protect the most vulnerable people in the community.
"It's not about me getting a jab, it's about me getting a jab to make it safer for our younger people and our older people.
"I don't mind if I'm the last one to get a vaccination but, man, I'll be getting one."
Whanganui DHB recommends the following sites for information on the Covid-19 vaccine:
• www.health.govt.nz/our-work/diseases-and-conditions/covid-19-novel-coronavirus/covid-19-vaccines/covid-19-vaccine-safety-and-approval
• www.covid19.govt.nz/health-and-wellbeing/covid-19-vaccines/
• www.covid19.govt.nz/health-and-wellbeing/covid-19-vaccines/covid-19-vaccine-resources/how-to-get-trustworthy-information/
• www.immune.org.nz/
“Relying on overseas doctors to fill our rural workforce gaps is not sustainable."