Milestone Covid jab: ‘Do the right thing’
Tiputa Tevaga was surprised to receive a bouquet of orchids after he became the 500,000th person in Auckland to receive the Covid-19 jab.
“I’m going to give these to my mum,” the personal trainer, from Ma¯ ngere, said.
The 37-year-old — nicknamed Mr 500,000 by Highbrook Vaccination Centre staff — got a pat on the back after he received his second dose of the Pfizer vaccine yesterday.
“I feel blessed and honoured [to be number 500,000]. I need to get it because part of my job is to work closely with others. Some of [my clients], they don’t believe in [vaccination], he said. “I just want to say to them, ‘If you love your life, if you want to live longer, do the right thing’.”
By last Tuesday, just over 1.27 million Pfizer doses had been given in New Zealand, with just over half a million people fully vaccinated after receiving their second dose.
Tevaga, whose first language is Samoan, also hoped to see more information about the vaccine in his community, especially in churches.
He knew some people were afraid, but said there was no need to be as the jab didn’t hurt.
“Go with a supporter, especially if they’ve been vaccinated,” he recommended.
Both Tevaga’s jabs were administered by Pelenaise Latu, a public health nurse who’s given more than 5000 since the Highbrook Vaccination Centre opened in March.
Latu knows how hard it is to get the vaccination message through to some communities. Anyone still nervous should talk to their GP or Healthline, as support was available, she said.
“It’s a very painless process and it’s getting much better now. Just come and have it — it’s safe.”