September 01, 2021
Papakura Marae drive through vax centre sound scheme
Papakura Marae has opened the country’s first marae-based drive through vaccination centre.
Marae manager Tony Kake says Australia has had drive through vaccinations since April, so he and the marae’s former clinical director, Dr Rawiri Jansen, thought ‘why not?’
He says when people arrive at the Hunua Rd site a triage team will check they don’t have any disqualifying health issues and confirm their national health identification number.
"You come though, wind your window down and get the jab and then wait for 15 minutes, all in the comfort of your own vehicle. They're staying within their bubble which is I think the genius behind this – they're staying their listening to their own sounds. They're not listening to mine, bro." Mr Kake says..
The marae can do up to four people in a car, although in a trial run yesterday a van-load of eight in one whānau was vaccinated.
Meanwhile, calls by Māori for Auckland to get priority for vaccines seem to have been heard.
The Director General of Health, Ashley Bloomfield, told Radio New Zealand this morning that if vaccine supplies couldn't match demand, Auckland would get first call.
He’d like to see Auckland maintain a pro rata rate of 90,000 vaccinations, even if the rest of the country drops to around 50,000 to 60,000.
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