90pc first doses reached in Northland
Ninety per cent of Northland’s eligible population has had a first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, the district health board has announced.
It is the last region to reach the milestone. The second-to-last, Whanganui, hit 90 per cent on December 16.
About 4600 Northlanders need to get their second jab for the region to be 90 per cent double vaccinated.
Northland DHB chief executive Dr Nick Chamberlain said the milestone was ‘‘significant’’.
He was proud of the team effort of Māori health providers, iwi, general practices, pharmacies, councils and leaders, he said.
‘‘In the face of an Omicron outbreak, we need all eligible Northlanders to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to minimise the risk and maximise the protection we need to combat the virus.’’
News the region has officially hit the milestone comes after the Ministry of Health announced it had reached 90 per cent earlier in February– despite being 500 jabs short.
Of eligible Māori in Northland, 86 per cent have had their first dose and 80 per cent are double vaccinated.
Twenty-three per cent of tamariki (children) have had their first paediatric dose. Fourteen per cent of Māori tamariki have received their first dose.
As at Friday, there were 159 active Covid-19 cases in Northland, with the DHB confirming the Omicron variant as being the main strain in the region.
Chamberlain said he expected numbers to grow rapidly.
‘‘Our key message has always been that Tai Tokerau needs to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, and there is still a lot of work to do.’’
He said two shots were great protection against the Delta variant, but boosters were the ‘‘best way to fight Omicron’’.
‘‘To get through the far more contagious Omicron outbreak, it is even more critical that everyone gets vaccinated to protect themselves and their community,’’ Chamberlain said.
‘‘Our key message has always been that Tai Tokerau needs to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, and there is still a lot of work to do,’’ he said.
Harry Burkhardt, chairman of the 12 iwi in Northland, said the milestone was ‘‘a wonderful landing point from an iwi perspective’’.
He said it was the culmination of ‘‘a whole lot of work amongst a whole lot of people in the community’’, including iwi, hapū, Māori providers and DHBs.
Burkhardt said the iwi wanted everyone in the region to be vaccinated.
They were working with the community to reach the 90 per cent second doses milestone, he said.