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November 22, 2021
Whānau connection needed to beat vax hesitancy
Adam Gifford
Posted On November 22, 2021
Download AudioThe head of a Gisborne Māori health service says getting the Health Ministry data being sought by the Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency could be a game changer.
The agency is back in court on Thursday challenging the Health Ministry’s refusal to release the data.
Rewiti Ropiha from Tūranga Health says his hauora has a GP practice, and it partnered with other practices to get some data identifying potentially unvaccinated Māori.
It also ran a successful event with Black Power on Saturday for gang members and their whānau to get their shot.
But he says at this stage in the roll out, finding ways to talk to people face to face is critical.
“There’s a massive distrust, there’s still massive hesitancy, and we believe the more we can get into those spaces, be it a Monday or a Sunday, be it 6.30 in the morning or 8.30 at night, without that intimacy of the whānau connect we are continuously chasing,” Mr Ropiha says.
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