Twenty-one people have been hospitalised with Covid in the Bay of Plenty as of January 11. Photo / George Novak
About 85 per cent of people hospitalised with Covid-19 in the Bay of Plenty District Health Board region during the latest outbreak were not fully vaccinated.
As of January 11, 21 people had been hospitalised with Covid in the Bay - 18 were not fully vaccinated.
The remaining three had received two doses of the vaccine, Toi Te Ora Public Health medical officer of health Dr Phil Shoemack said.
Toi Te Ora was notified of 280 Covid cases in the Bay between November 12 and January 5.
Of those, 217 were aged 12 years or older and therefore eligible for vaccination. Half of the 217 were unvaccinated
The figures, sourced from the National Contact Tracing Solution system, show vaccination is working a health professor says.
University of Waikato professor of public health Ross Lawrenson pointed to the proportion of those cases.
"If you've got 90 per cent of the population fully vaccinated and 10 per cent were not vaccinated with a virus circulating, and 50 per cent of the cases were in that 10 per cent and the other 50 per cent were in the 90 per cent, that's a pretty good indication that vaccinations not only prevent you going to hospital but they do prevent you getting the virus.
"It's not 100 per cent - some people will still get the virus."
The figures come as the country braces for Omicron after the ministry revealed yesterday 266 cases of the variant had been detected in MIQ since December 1. Omicron is predicted to become the dominant strain within weeks of an outbreak.
A further breakdown of the 217 local cases eligible for vaccination shows 108 were unvaccinated, 46 had received one dose, 62 had received two doses, and one had received three doses.
Of those 217 cases, 99 were between 30 and 49 years old, 61 were between 12 and 29, 44 were between 50 and 69 and 13 were older than 70.
The majority of confirmed cases (269) were in the western Bay of Plenty subregion in a "wide range of suburbs," Shoemack said.
The remaining 11 were in the Eastern Bay of Plenty, including in the Whakatāne, Kawerau and Ōpōtiki districts, he said.
As of January 11, 94 per cent of the Bay of Plenty's eligible population had received one dose and 91 per cent were fully vaccinated, Ministry of Health data showed.
Lawrenson said hospitalisation rates for those who contracted Covid and were unvaccinated were "much greater".
Hospitalisation rates also depended on the age and health of the patient, and a lot of patients admitted to a hospital had some sort of underlying condition, he said.
Lawrenson said he thought the majority of people who were unvaccinated tended to be in the younger age group and were ending up in hospital because they were susceptible to Delta.
"I think some younger people think that they're bulletproof and they're not."
In Waikato, those in hospital tended to be in the 30 to 50 age group because the vaccination rate in older age groups was above 95 per cent and they were having "very few" cases among older people.
Lawrenson encouraged people to get their booster shot to give them the best protection against Omicron.
"We're concerned about Omicron getting into the community and Omicron seems to be much more infectious so it's really important that people are protected because the virus is going to spread rapidly."
Shoemack said vaccination was the best way to keep yourself, your loved ones and the community safe from Covid-19.
"If you haven't already had your vaccination, now is the time to get it. Vaccination is free and currently available to everyone 12 years and older.
"The vaccine will also be available for children aged 5 to 11 years from January 17."
Shoemack said booster shots were now available for people aged 18 and over, and could be received four months after a second dose. Boosters provided better protection against the Omicron variant.
Bookings for vaccinations could be made directly with general practices, Hauora providers, or community pharmacies, or online at the book my vaccine website.