Jules Cunningham, of Napier, came up with Shot Bro Covid vaccine bus name. Photo / Warren Buckland
Jules Cunningham, of Napier, came up with Shot Bro Covid vaccine bus name. Photo / Warren Buckland
New Zealand has a Napier woman to thank for the vaccine buses not being named "Bussy McBus Face".
Jules Cunningham is the woman behind the name chosen for New Zealand's vaccine bus service - Shot Bro - which rolled out last week, following an appeal for names by Prime MinisterJacinda Ardern.
Vaxi Taxi, Jabbin' Wagon, Jabba Waka and even Jabba Dabba Doo were among some of the names put forward for the "Mr Whippy"-style service system.
Cunningham said she got "real goosebumps" when it was chosen, gaining more than 18,000 votes in the PM's poll.
"I'm super-excited that it's been so well received and picked up."
The self-taught photographer and editor often posts memes to Twitter and felt a humorous approach would help encourage people to get their Covid-19 shot.
Napier woman Jules Cunningham's original mock up of the "Mr Whippy"-style vaccine bus service, with the winning name "Shot Bro". Photo / Supplied
While friends and family say it's not a phrase she uses often herself, she picked up after working with youth and said it was "absolutely Kiwi".
"That sort of vernacular is something quite normal that I felt they'd relate to.
While most of the feedback had been very supportive, there were a few who had criticised it as "sexist and racist" while others said it was "bad English".
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called for name suggestions for the vaccine bus rollout - Napier woman Jules Cunningham came up with the winning name, "Shot Bro". Photo / NZME
"Don't they know a woman came up with it?"
Cunningham took the "Mr Whippy" theme literally, posting a picture of a pink, pimped-out ice cream truck with a syringe and the words "Shot Bro" to her Twitter account last Tuesday.
She said the pink used in the ice-cream truck design was a nod to microbiologist Dr Siouxsie Wiles, who has become a household figure during the Covid-19 outbreak.
"There were some really cool and clever, creative names."
Cunningham said she was a fan of the "Jabba Waka" name in particular - across the Tasman, a similar vaccine rollout has seen the buses called "Jabba The Bus".
Having already received her first Covid-19 jab, she said getting the vaccine can be "a bit scary" for some, so it was good to have something that was "a bit of fun and humorous" to encourage them.
The initial three buses were rolled out around Auckland last week, in areas where vaccination numbers were low or communities were finding it more difficult to access services.
The bus fleet will expand from six to 12 in the coming weeks.
