January 18, 2022
Taonui calls for ‘by Māori, for Māori’ vaccinations
A Māori health researcher on Covid-19 says the Government’s child vaccination rollout must allow for a ‘by Māori, for Māori’ approach.
Dr Rawiri Taonui is urging the Government to make tamariki Māori vaccinations an urgent priority.
The latest figures show tamariki comprise 53.3 per cent of all cases and 63.0 per cent of all hospitalisations in the under-12 year’s age group.
Dr Taonui says there needs to be a Māori vaccination leadership group with oversight of the rollout while Māori health providers need better resourcing.
On the ground, vaccination centres need to work in partnership with Māori authorities.
Opportunities must also exist for whānau-centred approaches such as combining adult boosters with child shots.
Taonui also wants to see a rollout at low-decile schools given that the majority of tamariki Māori are students.