Covid-19 Omicron outbreak: Five more people hospitalised with the virus in Northland

There are concerns people are not reporting the results of their RAT. Photo / NZME

Five more Northlanders positive with Covid-19 have been hospitalised in the past 24-hours.

The Northland District Health Board announced 23 people were currently in hospital with the virus, up from 18 yesterday.

Data held by the Ministry of Health and Northland District Health Board states 11 people have died in Northland in the 28 days after returning a positive Covid test.

NAD_positive_cases_08-04

Northland has recorded 549 new cases of Covid-19 today. Of those, 295 are in Whangārei, 202 in the Far North, and 52 are in Kaipara.

Overall, 18,610 people in the region have recovered from the virus. While another 3766 cases remain active in Northland.

The value of daily case numbers has been called into question as a leading epidemiologist says we have no idea of the true number of community cases as many people aren't recording their rapid antigen test (RAT) results.

Radio New Zealand reported a leaked memo from the Northern Region Health Co-ordination Centre (NRHCC) to health providers in the Auckland region on March 26 stated 50 million RATs had been distributed into the system in the past month with less than one million results reported.

University of Auckland professor Rod Jackson told RNZ the fact so many people are not recording their Covid-19 RAT results means the Ministry of Health's daily case numbers are meaningless.

Testing

Testing is available throughout the region until 3pm at district health board sites in Kaitāia (The Old Warehouse, 11 Matthews Ave); Kerikeri (570 Kerikeri Rd); Dargaville Hospital, and Whangārei (Winger Cr, Kamo).

Vaccination

The district health board says bookings are preferred for boosters and 5 to 11-year-old Pfizer vaccinations via BookMyVaccine. However, walk-ins are available.

A GP prescription is required for the Novavax vaccination if a person's first dose was a different vaccine. Novavax was made available in Northland on March 21.

District health board vaccination sites are available in Kaitāia (11 Matthews Ave) until 3pm; Kerikeri (1 Sammaree Pl) until 7pm; and Whangārei (Northland Events Centre on Okara Dr) until 7pm.

Dargaville's DHB vaccination site is closed today.

A full list of Māori health provider vaccination clinics is available on the Northland DHB website.

The district health board says people who test positive for Covid-19 should wait three months before seeking their booster shot.

Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine booster for 16 and 17-year-olds

A Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine booster dose is available from today for all rangatahi aged 16 and 17 - as long as six months have passed since their second dose.

Medsafe has provisionally approved the booster dose for this age group.

The Northland DHB said a booster dose is especially recommended for 16 and 17-year-olds at higher risk of severe outcomes from Covid. This includes those who are immunocompromised or living with a family member who is immunocompromised, and Māori and Pacific rangatahi.

The side effects of this booster vaccine for this age group are expected to be the same as those for people aged 18 and older, the district health board said.