Bay of Plenty DHB Covid-19 vaccination rate low: 'We have a lot of work to do'

The Bay of Plenty District Health Board admits it has some work to do to bridge inequity in the vaccination rate. Photo / Getty Images

Bay of Plenty District Health Board has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country with just 13 per cent of the total population protected against Covid-19.

And despite about a third of the DHB's population being Māori, only 6.4 per cent have been vaccinated.

In the Lakes DHB, with almost 40 per cent of the population being Māori, the general vaccination rate is 15.7 per cent, yet 7.2 per cent for Māori.

The Bay of Plenty health board did not specifically respond to questions regarding the clear inequity between groups, instead stating there was "a lot of work to do".

Covid-19 incident controller Trevor Richardson said more than 50 per cent of Māori residents in the Bay of Plenty district aged 65 years and older had received their first dose of Pfizer vaccine, as of July 23.

"We still have a lot of work to do to ensure our Māori communities are comfortable to receive the vaccine as it is the best way to protect our whānau."

Richardson said the health board was working closely with local iwi and Māori health providers on local solutions, particularly in remote areas.

"An example is a 'whole of population' vaccination approach rolled out in Te Kaha in May, which has been extremely successful.

"For smaller areas like Te Kaha, the logistics of mobilising a vaccination team are more complex and so where we apply this approach, it is more practical to vaccinate the whole community rather than breaking the population into sub-groups."

Bay of Plenty District Health Board has one of the lowest Covid-19 vaccination rates in the country. Photo / NZME

The health board were building on this momentum by taking a similar approach with mobile outreach services to communities with a higher proportion of Māori.

"We have also undertaken a significant outreach programme through marae, and iwi networks, and are about to roll out a new campaign to increase awareness about the vaccination and how to access it.

"Our vaccination event for Pasifika seasonal workers in mid-July was also extremely successful, with over 500 people being vaccinated over two days at our Baypark community vaccination centre."

Bay of Plenty DHB chief executive Pete Chandler said achieving equity was a priority and they were working closely with iwi and Māori health providers to reach remote areas with higher Māori populations.

"As we move into the full-scale rollout we are expecting the equity gap will close, but this is something we all need to work together on."

An example of this in action was Te Puna Ora o Mataatua launching a mobile vaccination centre this week, chief executive of the trust, Dr Chris Tooley said.

"The Eastern Bay of Plenty is behind on where we want to be when it comes to vaccination rates.

"To help with that we are removing barriers for those that need extra support, through location bookings and transport assistance."

The mobile team will soon be available for large group bookings. If you have a group of 30 to 60 people who want to be vaccinated in Mataatua, the team can come to you or provide transport to its Whakatāne site.

Med Central Practice manager Kahlise Hata said more Māori had died from Covid-19 in New Zealand than any other ethnic group.

"And we know from historical infectious diseases, like the flu, Māori are disproportionately affected."

Te Puna Ora o Mataatua has actioned a mobile vaccination clinic in the Eastern Bay of Plenty. Photo / Supplied

The full-scale rollout has officially started this week with Group 4 given the green light on Wednesday.

In most DHBs the rate for Māori is about half the general population, while some are well below half.

Ministry of Health covid vaccination equity group manager Jason Moses told the Herald this week the low rates were "largely attributed" to the lower proportion of Māori in Groups 1 and 2 of the vaccination programme – particularly among the frontline healthcare workforce - and lower age demographic.

This was expected to narrow as they moved further into Groups 3 and 4, which both had higher proportions of Māori, he said.

The sequencing framework gave DHBs, which knew their communities best, the "flexibility to respond to their area's particular needs and tailor approaches that work best for their different populations", he said.

The Government had also set aside $39m to boost Māori vaccination rates, including nearly $30m to health providers for equity programmes.