Covid-19: The gaps in Marlborough's vaccine roll-out

Sunday, 10 October 2021

Manu Ora general practitioner Dr Sara Simmons says open discussions with whānau need to be had, in order to encourage as many Māori as possible to get the vaccine.

Closing the gaps in Marlborough’s vaccination roll-out will require kōrero, or discussion, between whānau which will be more effective than any “1pm presser with the Prime Minister and Doctor Bloomfield”.

New figures released to Stuff this week, show major disparities in vaccination rates when comparing Pākehā and Māori in Wairau (Blenheim).

In Blenheim central, 91.6 per cent of the population have had their first dose, and 62.2 per cent are fully vaccinated. By comparison, only 53.2 per cent of Māori have had one dose, and just 28.7 per cent are fully vaccinated.

In Marlborough, 15.5 per cent or 6318 people are of Māori descent, according to the 2018 census.

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Te Kotahi o Te Tauihu Charitable Trust trustee and Rangitāne o Wairau general manager Corey Hebberd said.

Manu Ora mātanga rata (general practitioner) Dr Sara Simmons said it was crucial to get Māori and Pasifika vaccination rates up, and something that should not be put in the “too hard basket”.

“Because it’s the Māori and Pasifika people who aren’t getting vaccinated, and they’re at higher risk of getting the illness and often don’t have access to really good information about why the vaccine is so important,” Dr Simmons said.

She thought there were a few factors contributing to the lower vaccination rates in Māori, including difficulty of getting to a vaccination centre, having other focuses, and also, some mistrust in the heath sector.

Working as a GP, Dr Simmons said plenty of patients came in with questions around the vaccine.

Iwi lead vaccine clinics, have been helpful in getting the vaccine to Māori in Te Tauihu

“I think listening is a huge part of this. That’s certainly what we’ve found at Manu Ora, that just being open to listen to people and have those discussions, is what we have found as the best way to work on people that may have some vaccine hesitancy.”

She said some of the measures that have been put in place, such as iwi lead vaccine clinics, have been helpful in getting the vaccine to Māori.

Te Kotahi o Te Tauihu Charitable Trust trustee and Rangitāne o Wairau general manager Corey Hebberd said all eight iwi in Nelson Marlborough have come together to support the vaccine rollout.

He said the trust, set up to aid the Covid-19 response, was working hard to make sure whānau were engaged with the Covid-19 vaccination campaign.

“The approach that we have taken is that whānau make good decisions, when whānau have access to good information,” Hebberd said.

“It has been one around educating people around the vaccine and the roll-out for it, and making sure that they have access to local people in their community, who are their trusted whānau.”

He said a big focus at the moment was on our rangatahi [youth], and an advisory group had been set up for this.

“Rangatahi have their own voice in the way of expressing things, so having that conversation together and using trusted whānau is the way to go,” he said.

“From a social lens, having a kōrero (conversation) with some kai is going to be better than any one o’clock presser with the prime minister and Doctor Bloomfield to convince people. It’s that connection on the ground that’s important.”

Ngā iwi o Te Tauihu of Te Waka-a-Māui (The eight iwi of Te Tauihu) are: Ngāti Apa ki te Rā Tō, Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Kuia, Ngāti Rārua, Ngāti Tama ki Te Waipounamu, Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Rangitāne o Wairau and Te Ātiawa o te Waka-a-Māui.