Whanganui exceeding Covid-19 vaccination targets but concerns about booking delays

A Whanganui man says he rang the Covid-19 vaccination booking line five times over ten days, but no one picked up the phone. Photo / Bevan Conley

Whanganui District Health Board remains ahead of its Covid-19 vaccination targets, sitting 75 per cent ahead of where it hoped to be - the furthest ahead in the country.

According to Ministry of Health figures released this week, 9259 people in the health board catchment had received their first dose of the vaccine, and 4693 were fully vaccinated.

Nationwide, 775,444 doses have been administered across all 20 DHBs.

The supply of vaccines available for distribution in New Zealand is at its lowest since early March, but the government has said supplies won't run short.

Late last month, the Whanganui DHB had to reschedule a number of appointments after stocks of the vaccine ran out and a courier delivering fresh batches was delayed.

Meanwhile, one Whanganui resident has raised concerns about the Whanganui DHB's booking system for vaccination, saying he waited 10 days for the DHB to return his calls despite being in a high-risk category.

Richard MacDonald is in vaccine group 3, being over the age of 65 and diagnosed with diabetes.

Group 3 vaccinations are under way across the country and include all people over the age of 65, those with underlying health conditions, and those who are classed as severely overweight.

In Whanganui, the DHB has opted for a phone and email booking service, rather than proactively contacting those in group 3.

MacDonald said after being alerted to the number at the end of last month he called five times but each call was directed to an automated answer machine asking him to leave a message with his name, date of birth and contact number.

MacDonald left five messages but says he wasn't called back until Thursday - shortly after the Chronicle made inquiries about the delay.

MacDonald said he was more than happy to wait in line for his vaccine but wanted the DHB to be clearer about possible delays at the first point of contact.

"For some older people leaving a message, waiting 10 days to get a call back might worry them," he said.

"Even if they said on the answer phone 'it may take us 10 days to answer your call', that would be fine."

The Whanganui DHB's Covid-19 vaccination web page said while group 3 vaccinations were under way, there may be delays.

"With such a large group we need the flexibility to respond to the needs of our local communities. At times, this could mean vaccinating some priority groups ahead of others," the website says.

"We ask that you all remain patient - everyone will get their free vaccination in due course."

The DHB was contacted for further comment.