January 28, 2022
Tangata whaiora missing out on vax
The Mental Health and Wellbeing Commission is concerned about the number of tangata whaiora who remain unvaccinated.
Chair Hayden Wano says vaccination rates for tangata whaiora using mental health services are 70 per cent lower than the general population, and for Māori using addiction services, they’re 26 per cent lower.
“We know there’s a risk there – the more likelihood of exposure to contracting something like Covid and if tangata whaiora do in fact contract the virus they are more likely to become seriously unwell so there is a reason the commission wanted to raise this as a profile and an issue that we need to make sure that all of our whanau are coming through the system,” he says.
Mr Wano says Māori tangata whaiora face racism in accessing services and it’s important mental health services work better with on the ground kaupapa Māori organisations involved in vaccination.