Ardern’s verdict after first jab: Pretty pain-free
PM says her vaccination was early because she had to be a role model
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern received her first Covid vaccine with little fuss at Manurewa Marae yesterday, saying it was “pretty pain-free”.
In a matter of seconds, vaccination centre clinical lead Nicole Andrews had the needle in and out of Ardern’s arm before administering another vaccine to Ardern’s chief science adviser, Juliet Gerrard.
Asked why she received the vaccine ahead of her group 4 rollout age bracket, Ardern said she needed to be a “role model” for others.
Covid vaccination bookings at Manurewa Marae in Auckland were cancelled before Ardern’s jab, but officials said it had nothing to do with the PM’s vaccination.
Ian Brice and his wife, 71-year-olds from Pukekohe, were supposed to get their first jabs yesterday morning, but were contacted on Thursday by the Covid helpline to say their appointments had been cancelled.
The marae often does more than 400 vaccinations a day.
A Northern Region Health Coordination Centre spokesperson said the cancellations were because of a capacity issue.
“The NRHCC has been amending appointments for the Manurewa Marae Vaccination Centre for about a week now as the site has been running slightly over capacity.
“Those rebooked have been sent to a new site at Airport Oaks and from next week, we will also rebook some appointments to the new vaccination centre at Takanini.”
But Brice was frustrated and confused by the change. “It didn’t do a lot for me, I’ve got to say.”
He was left a voice and text message about the cancellation but also received a text that reconfirmed his marae-based appointment.
Talking with helpline staff, Brice was able to confirm their morning appointments had been cancelled.
He was offered bookings in five weeks but wasn’t willing to accept the delay and managed to negotiate times in three weeks instead.
To his surprise, a helpline staffer then rang him and offered 11am appointments at the O¯tara vaccination centre, which he agreed to.
Despite a very pleasant experience at the O¯ tara centre, Brice described the process as “a shambles”. He queried how the vaccine rollout could be continually referred to as a success when he had heard from people with similar stories to his, and friends also being told their appointments at the marae yesterday morning had been cancelled.
Meanwhile, one new Covid-19 case in MIQ was declared yesterday, and none in the community.
Stewart Island’s suspected case has been cleared — the child has been diagnosed with rhinovirus, or the common cold.
“Rhinovirus causes the common cold and would explain the flu-like symptoms reported in the community,” the Ministry of Health said.
Tests on the child’s family were also negative. More than 90 people have now been tested, with results expected over the weekend.
“The first of the results, if negative, would give a high degree of certainty Covid-19 was not circulating in the community,” the ministry said.
The new case in MIQ came from Spain via the United Arab Emirates and tested positive on day five.