August 31, 2021
Time to step up Maori vaxing
The chair of the National Urban Māori Authority says it’s time to change the game plan for vaccinating Māori and Pasifika.
Lady Tureiti Moxon says not only should the vaccination supply be diverted to Auckland, as Mayor Phil Goff has called for, but much of it needs to be delivered by Māori and Pasifika providers.
She says they’re high-risk communities, but so far they haven’t featured in the government’s multi-million dollar communications machine.
So far the approach has been monocultural, and little thought has been given to how Maori access – or don’t access – health services.
"Lots of them don't know where the Māori providers are necessary, most of them don't know where they can go to see themselves or the Pasifika providers, and particularly given that in Tāmaki Makaurau at this time, we want to be involved, whānau say we can do this in our own areas," she says.
Lady Moxon says Māori health providers have been showing the way by taking a no-barrier approach to vaccination.
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