March 23, 2020
Flu jabs strengthen Covid-19 preparedness
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Whānau Ora and Associate Health Minister Peeni Henare want to see a rapid boost in vaccination numbers among Māori as the nation prepared for the Covid-19 coronavirus.
One of the items in the $56 million Māori-specific package announced yesterday was for a Māori-led and Māori-specific vaccination programme to address equity issues.
That’s tied in with Health Minister David Clark’s decision to bring forward the normal influenza jabs.
He says the rates of Māori receiving flu vaccinations has been low in the past, but that can’t be allowed to continue in the face of the looming threat.
"We can’t have our whānau having to fight two viruses at once, Covid-19 and the flu," Mr Henare says.
While many individual marae say they want to help with the response, he wants to see a collaborative approach with marae and iwi working together.
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