Marlborough Primary Health Organisation chief executive Beth Tester said Marlborough was more than ready to move into vaccinating the 60+ age bracket, even as they continued to reach those in Group 3 still without a vaccine. Group 4 was everyone else in the country, but was being done in age groups. Those aged 55 and over could get their vaccine from August 11.
SCOTT HAMMOND/STUFF
Marlborough Primary Health Organisation chief executive Beth Tester said 25 per cent of the Marlborough population had been vaccinated. Tester said the district had been able to surpass its vaccination target because it started early. The main concern at the moment was getting more Māori men vaccinated, but Tester said Māori women were tracking the same as the rest of the population.
Later that day, Pfizer confirmed it was on track to deliver the first doses of the vaccine to New Zealand before the end of March. First up for the vaccine would be workers at the border and at managed isolation facilities, including cleaners and maintenance staff, and their families. Next down the line was likely to be those in aged-care facilities. Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield on Thursday addressed concerns some vaccines could be less effective on older people by saying the Government could target different age groups in order to protect the wider population. Bloomfield said he still believed the vaccine to be effective in over 65s.