Advocates shifting mood on Maori vaccine plans

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Waatea Team Advocates shifting mood on Maori vaccine plans

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Ikaroa Rāwhiti MP Meka Whaitiri says the Government is hearing the call from Māori and Pasifika leaders for their people to be given priority as the COVID-19 vaccination rollout continues.

The milestone of a million New Zealanders to be fully vaccinated was passed at the weekend, but health experts were concerned not enough have gone into Māori arms, given the likely impacts of the disease if it got established in those communities.

Ms Whaitiri says the advocacy from Māori pandemic response group Te Rōpū Whakakaupapa Urutā is similar to what it is hearing from the Māori and Pacific representatives on its independent expert advisory panel.

“They are all pushing for not just for equity at the front line but also involving our own communities in reaching our own so there is a huge commitment to working with iwi, particularly in Tāmaki where we have got most of our Māori population,” she says.

There were 21 new cases of COVID-19 in the New Zealand community confirmed today – 20 in Auckland and one in Wellington

This brings the total number of cases in the community outbreak to 72.

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