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November 22, 2021
Māori strategy to deliver Christmas Covid cheer
Adam Gifford
Posted On November 22, 2021
Download AudioWaipareira head John Tamihere says vaccination rates for Māori are unlikely to catch up with non-Māori by Christmas.
Waipareira and the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency are in court on Thursday for a hearing on a second judicial review of the refusal by the Director General of Health, Ashley Bloomfield, to hand over data which would allow whānau ora providers to identify unvaccinated Māori in the North Island.
Mr Tamihere says mainstream district health boards are now adopting the techniques used by Māori providers to reach whānau, but they can’t do it as effectively.
Waipareira’s week-long surge in Taitokerau this month beat anything Northland District Health Board had been able to come up with.
“Numbers don’t lie. When Māori are deployed to Māori for Māori to their whānau you have a totally different result. What we need is for Mr Bloomfield and his friends to get out of our way and to ensue that we are resourced like them, but we don’t need them,” Mr Tamihere says.
Waipareira’s next surge will be in south Auckland, helping Papakura Marae, Manurewa Marae, Turuki Healthcare and other providers reach some of the 26,500 Māori in Auckland still unvaccinated – as well as give people a chance for their second shot.
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