After a slower start Wellington's vaccination rollout has leaped ahead in recent weeks.
The Porirua Union and Community Health Clinic's vaccination team: from left, Ioana Viliamu-Amusia, Sally Tui, Uili Te'o, Maire Christeller and Ma'u Pauta. Photo: RNZ / Hamish Cardwell
But clinicians want more resources to help fight the war against social media misinformation - particularly to convince rangatahi Māori.
The nationwide vaccination programme got off to a glacial start, but with supply secure it is surging ahead, especially in the capital.
Pharmacies like Unichem Wellington Central on Lambton Quay are now central in the race to vaccinate before another Delta outbreak.
Business manager and pharmacist Victor Chong said it began vaccinating a month ago, and is doing more than 200 bookings and walk-ins a day.
Caleb, who was lined up outside to get a shot, said it was all about location.
"For me convenience was the biggest thing. If I can just pop out of the office, get it and then go back to work then you know why not?
"But if I have to drive somewhere, walk ages then I might not do it as soon as I could."
Lambton Quay Unichem Pharmacy vaccinator Georgia Lidstone, left, and business manager and pharmacist Victor Chong. Photo: RNZ / Hamish Cardwell
Wellington has had a remarkable turnaround, going from having one of the worst vaccination numbers nationally to one of the best in a couple of months.
In just the past two weeks it's gone from sixth to third place nationally - moving from 57 percent first dose coverage of those eligible to 75.5 percent.
In fact, RNZ analysis shows a quarter of all vaccinations in Wellington have been done in the fortnight through to last Tuesday.
A full quarter of all eligible Wellington residents have received a jab in the past two weeks.
But the slow start means Wellington is off the pace dishing out second doses, remaining third last nationwide at 24.4 percent a fortnight ago compared with 31.9 percent. It is likely to rise up the rankings once those waiting their six weeks between shots become eligible.
And Māori rates are still lagging behind - fewer than one in five Māori have got a vaccination in the past fortnight compared with more than one in four eligible Wellington residents.
GPs helping with surge
College of General Practitioners medical director Dr Bryan Betty said the government kept GPs at arm's length in the early part of the rollout, and now compliance barriers having been worked through more are coming onboard.
"The more points of access that you have in a particular area, the better off you are going to be in terms of access to the vaccine and ability to get it pushed out.
"We know there are some DHBs across the country that have not involved general practice [as much] for instance, and ... I think they're struggling a bit because they're very centralised in their approach."
Dr Bryan Betty says it's far better to have GPs hands-on with the vaccine rollout. Photo: RNZ / Karen Brown
Dr Betty said the region's DHB pushing a community-based approach - including Māori and Pacific providers - was key to the region racing up the national rankings.
The Porirua Union and Community Health Clinic is in Cannon's Creek. About half its clients are Pasifika, a quarter are Māori and it also has hundreds of refugees on its books.
Numbers through the clinic shot up about a month ago to more than 600 a day.
Clinic vaccinator Ma'u Pauta said it was successful because its workers were from the same communities they treated, and had the social connections to target populations.
But in the past week or so Porirua Union's vaccination numbers have tapered off and it is now struggling to get people through its doors.
Dr Betty also works at the clinic and said while online misinformation was a nationwide problem, it was particularly dissuading rangatahi in the area.
He said misinformation builds on disadvantaged groups' existing distrust of the health system where they have often faced poor treatment.
People's religious beliefs also put some people off.
Ioana Viliamu-Amusia from the clinic said misinformation was keeping young people away.
"One young man that I spoke to today said that there's not enough positive things out there about the vaccine, too many negatives out there - more than anything else."
She said the DHB, the government and the media needed to put more resources into the online pro-vaccination messaging.
Region using mobile clinics
Capital & Coast and Hutt Valley DHB chief executive Fionnagh Dougan said bookings in the coming weeks looked healthy, but the biggest challenge was to reach those who are hesitant.
She said mobile vaccination teams were out in the community and a vaccination truck was being used to establish pop-up vaccination sites at locations including marae, churches, and community halls.
"We are now considering other mobile options to deliver vaccinations to known 'hot spots' that have a large number of unvaccinated people, and [we] are commissioning Kahungunu Whenua Services to deliver a mobile vaccination service to our homeless community and people in emergency housing."
Kahungunu Whānau Services' Rochelle Gibbs, CEO Ali Hamlin-Paenga, Strathmore Park Community Centre manager Fiona Prestidge, and Kahungunu Whānau services' Dominic Blake at a mobile vaccination clinic at Strathmore Park Community Centre yesterday. Photo: RNZ / Matai O'Connor
Some other Wellington region numbers
- 407,500 doses given out across the region - a quarter in the fortnight to Tuesday 14 September
- A full quarter of all eligible Wellington residents have received a vaccination in the past fortnight
- 54 percent of Māori and 63 percent of the Pacific population have received at least their first dose
- There are 67 places to get a vaccination. See the full list [www.rph.org.nz/public-health-topics/vaccinate-greater-wellington/getting-vaccinated/wellington-porirua-the-hutt-valley-and-kapiti/vaccination-centres/ here]
- Wellington is outperforming national figures at every comparison apart from second doses for European/ Others and Asian, and slightly below for second doses for Pasifika.
