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Download AudioMāori Party co-leader Rawiri Waititi says a lag in Māori vaccination rates means it will be unsafe to open up Aotearoa for Christmas.
He says it’s essential Māori get access to data held by the Ministry of Health and other government agencies so they can reach their people.
Otherwise the 90 percent overall vaccination target set as the trigger for reopening part of the country will still mean dangerously high numbers of unvaccinated Māori.
“The Prime Minister wants to open up for Christmas. The problem is, she’s singing the song to the song sheet for Bing Crosby’s I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas and all the brownies are going to be left behind. This is why we are walking frantically to get our people vaccinated to ensure we don’t get left behind and we all enjoy a Christmas but at the moment all we see is a white Christmas,” Mr Waititi says.
There were 190 new cases of Covid-19 in the community reported today, 180 in Auckland, seven in Waikato and one in Northland.
The Māori vaccination rate is now up to 74 percent first dose and 57 percent fully vaccinated.
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