Saturday 27 February marks a historic day for Tairāwhiti, when the first vaccinations for COVID-19 will be given to border workers.
As the rollout of the vaccination programme begins, it signals an important milestone on a journey to protect our community from the virus.
“I’m proud to be helping our community stay safe, especially as we have some very vulnerable whānau here in Tairāwhiti. It’s a good feeling knowing that you’re contributing to the safety of our people,” says local COVID-19 vaccinator Roimata Brown.
“Our team of public health nurses have trained for this and we’re excited to get started.”
Border workers and the people they live with are Tier 1; the first group to be vaccinated. The workers are first in line because of their regular contact with people from overseas. “Our team of local vaccinators will also be vaccinated over the next week.”
High risk frontline health, fire and emergency services workers who are at the highest risk of exposure to COVID-19, will follow as the next group to be vaccinated. According to the rollout sequencing developed by the Ministry of Health, aged care workers and residents, those with underlying health conditions, kaumatua and older people will also be prioritised.
“Getting vaccinated will be one of the biggest contributions that we can all make to the safety of ourselves, our whānau, and the wider community. Tairāwhiti is one of the most vulnerable communities in Aotearoa. We can all help to eliminate that vulnerability by stepping up when the vaccine is made available to us” says Hauora Tairāwhiti Chief Executive Jim Green.
“Working with our iwi health partners and leaders will be an important part of this rollout, to ensure our community can make an informed choice about the vaccine.”
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which will be administered to our border workers this Saturday, is approximately 95% effective after receiving two doses. The swift production of the vaccine comes as the result of international collaboration and dedication by pharmaceutical companies worldwide to find an effective and safe vaccine against the virus. At the same time, the vaccine has still met all the appropriate standards and checks, and is approved for use by Medsafe, our pharmaceutical regulator here in New Zealand.
For official information about the COVID-19 vaccine and vaccination rollout plan in Aotearoa, visit covid19.govt.nz