Covid-19 coronavirus Delta outbreak: Palmerston North elected members get jabbed

Palmerston North local government politicians of all stripes and backgrounds are getting vaccinated against Covid-19. Photo / Supplied

Palmerston North's mayor and councillors have been busy rolling up their sleeves for the team of 90,000.

Mayor Grant Smith has received two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

He is joined in the double-jab team by councillors Brent Barrett, Susan Baty, Lew Findlay, Pat Handcock, Leonie Hapeta, Lorna Johnson, Karen Naylor, Bruno Petrenas and Aleisha Rutherford.

Rachel Bowen, Zulfiqar Butt, Vaughan Dennison, Renee Dingwall and Orphee Mickalad have all had their first jab, with their second booked.

Billy Meehan did not respond.

For more on the safety of the Covid-19 vaccine and other things you need to know, listen to our podcast Science Digest with Michelle Dickinson

"If we don't get to 90 per cent our memory of 'normal' will remain a long way off," Handcock says.

Dingwall says, as Pasifika she is strongly encouraging people to get vaccinated.

"The measles outbreak caused a lot of heartache in Samoa, and Covid-19 is so much worse. There's a lot of misinformation out there, and a lot of people hoping that faith will get them through, but faith in combination with the vaccine will give people better chances of staying out of hospital or worse."