Report from LDR
Iwi and iwi health providers pushing for earlier Covid-19 vaccination for Māori over the age of 50 are at the same time searching for ways to deal with vaccine hesitancy.
Whanganui District Health Board (WDHB) has delivered 4000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, mostly to border workers, frontline health staff, and rest home, police, fire and prison workers. People over the age of 65 will be offered vaccination in the next rollout phase, due to begin this month.
Iwi health authority Te Oranganui chief executive Wheturangi Walsh-Tapiata said Māori working with the DHB continued to advocate for Māori over 50 to be included in the next phase. But she said the flipside to the issue was dealing with reluctance among many Māori to get the jab.
Covid 19 coronavirus: Whanganui iwi health providers grapple with jab hesitancy
11 May, 2021 01:21 AM
4 minutes to read
Wheturangi Walsh-Tapiata, chief executive of Te Oranganui iwi health authority in Whanganui, is working to deal with jab hesitancy in Māori communities. File photo / Bevan Conley
Wheturangi Walsh-Tapiata, chief executive of Te Oranganui iwi health authority in Whanganui, is working to deal with jab hesitancy in Māori communities. File photo / Bevan Conley
Moana is a Local Democracy Reporter based in Whanganuimoana@awafm.co.nz
Iwi and iwi health providers pushing for earlier Covid-19 vaccination for Māori over the age of 50 are at the same time searching for ways to deal with jab hesitancy.
Ready, willing and able - 20 new recruits to the Whanganui vaccine campaign.
Photo: Supplied / LDR
Whanganui District Health Board (WDHB) has delivered 4000 doses of the Pfizer vaccine, mostly to border workers, frontline health staff, and rest home, police, fire and prison workers. People over the age of 65 will be offered vaccination in the next rollout phase, due to begin this month.
Iwi health authority Te Oranganui chief executive Wheturangi Walsh-Tapiata said Māori working with the DHB continued to advocate for Māori over 50 to be included in the next phase. But she said the flipside to the issue was dealing with reluctance among many Māori to get the jab.
Photo: 123rf.com
In Whanganui on Thursday, Andrew Little met with Māori health practitioners who developed the pregnancy and parenting service He Puna Ora. The outreach service is for pregnant women and mothers who are vulnerable to alcohol and other drug addiction issues, and are poorly connected to health and social services.
Iwi providers throughout the wider Whanganui region will work closely with the women to provide intensive support until their babies are three years old.
The service is one of two new pilots, with the second launching soon in Bay of Plenty. Four others are already operating in Waitemata, Hawke s Bay, Northland and Te Tairāwhiti.