Drive-thru vaccines: Te Taiwhenua rolls out kaupapa Māori vaccination strategy

A vaccination station is open at Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga for cars of whānau and kaumātua to receive a drive-thru Covid-19 jab.

Te Taiwhenua spokeswoman Tertia Whitcombe said they had received about 400 bookings on their first day of opening the drive-thru on Friday.

"We have been doing vaccination clinics anyway, every Friday for our whānau and kaumātua, but we thought we would be more likely to get Māori whānau here if we made it easier for them to all come together," she said.

"We aim to vaccinate as many people as possible. In our carpark we have the capacity to hold a lot of people and with the support of the DHB we can provide vaccinations for those 400 bookings," she said.

Registered nurse, Rosalia Taotofi gives Neil Blake a Covid injection at Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga, Hastings. Photo / Warren Buckland

Whitcombe said the drive-thru is about ensuring the safety of tangata whenua within the region.

"Today we had our first vaccination of someone in the 12-15 age bracket, who came in with their bubble. We are seeing a diverse age-range of people at our clinic."

The by Māori, for Māori initiative is in its fledgling stages, but it already has another 300 vaccination bookings for Saturday.

"It's been able to stand up quite quickly because of our essential workers and our non-essential workers who have been willing to be redeployed. Our kaimahi and kaimanaaki are leading this whānau–focused and kaupapa Māori initiative," she said.

Bookings for drive-thru slots are available through the Te Taiwhenua website or at Book My Vaccine.