October 19, 2021
Bird calls for vaccine choice
The tiny Bay of Plenty township of Murupara continues to be one of the lowest areas in the country for vaccination, with some of its most prominent citizens leading the change.
Only 32 per cent of Murupara’s 1400 people have received their first dose.
School principal and former Māori Party president Pem Bird says the township is upset at the action being taken by the Medical Council against local GP Bernard Conlon, who won’t offer COVID vaccines and has spoken about his concerns with informed consent for children and pregnant women.
Mr Bird says as a teacher of 55 years he’s upset teenagers can get the vaccine without parental consent.
He says he has his own reasons for not taking the Pfizer vaccine.
“My body is my body. It belongs to me. It does not belong to the state. I will make the decisions for myself. I have my own mind. I am te mana motuhake,” he says.
Pem Bird told Māori Television he wants to be able to choose another sort of vaccine, based on data about vaccine performance in Israel, the USA and Africa.
Recent studies indicate that while the Pfizer vaccine’s efficacy against catching COVID-19 was starting to wane slightly when compared with the Moderna vaccine, both vaccines were still highly effective in preventing severe disease and hospitalisation.