November 16, 2021
Data denial blinds whānau ora support
The head of Te Whānau o Waipareira says the Health Ministry’s continued refusal to share health data is putting lives at risk.
John Tamihere says it means not only do whānau ora providers like Waipareira can’t more accurately target their vaccine drives but they are frustrated in their efforts to support whānau who have COVID-19.
“We need this information pronto because half of all beds taken up in Auckland Hospital are Māori, over 1000 Māori are now home-isolating in Tāmaki Makaurau and the public health unit of the Ministry of Health won’t give us addresses in our area so we can send out welfare teams to support them,” he says.
Mr Tamihere says despite the data block Waipareira vaccinators delivered almost 3000 jabs during last week’s trip to Te Taitokerau – 80 per cent of them first doses and 80 per cent of them Māori.