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November 23, 2021
Complacency the enemy as Covid borders set to open
Adam Gifford
Posted On November 23, 2021
Download AudioA coordinator of iwi checkpoints in Taitokerau says knowing when the Auckland border will reopen may be what’s needed to shake people out of their complacency about getting vaccinated.
The country will be in the traffic light system on Friday December 3, with Cabinet next week deciding what level each part of the country will be.
Auckland will be at the red light stage.
Rueben Taipari says the hard border and the checkpoints helped keep people safe, so anxiety levels are starting to rise.
“We’ve been hiding behind our borders and checkpoints for so long that we’re still blasé about getting vaccinated here in the kainga and we’re talking like we have the luxury of deciding whether to be vaccinated. If we don’t get vaccinated, we need to have a really strong plan of how to protect ourselves,” he says.
With the move to the traffic light system imminent, more areas regions are closing in on the 90 percent vaccination threshold which is seen as critical for the country being able to live with Covid Delta.
Waikato hit the first dose 90 percent rate on Sunday of the eligible population, joining the three Auckland DHBs.
However, the Māori first dose vaccination rate is only 79.5 percent, or over 7000 doses short.
Hawkes Bay is also closing in on 90 percent first dose, with Māori back on 77 percent despite making up 48 percent of vaccinations on the weekend.
To date, 91 percent of eligible people in New Zealand have had their first dose and 83 percent are fully vaccinated.
For Māori, first doses are 79 percent and fully vaxxed 64 percent.
More than 1.1 million people have already downloaded a My Vaccine Pass from MyCovidRecord.health.nz
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