Opinion: Our immunity starts with community, and everyone's choice counts

First Covid Jab! Wonderful care from nurse Sue Baker who gave up her time on a Sunday to this vital mahi.

I have this stack of reoccurring items in my To-Do list. It goes "get an optometrist appointment/hair cut/Covid vaccination".

Truthfully, no one looks forward to getting a jab. There are plenty of things as an adult I don't want to do, but, if I always did what I wanted, I wouldn't pay the rates, or clean my kitchen, and I certainly wouldn't put my hand up to teach a teenager to drive (Note to self: Definitely dad's job).

But I'm not particularly needle-shy, so it hasn't really been the unpleasantness delaying me. It's more that, like most mums, things-for-other-people get priority while things-for-me drift (like my hair): But even when it's important, like scratched glasses, or avoiding a serious virus, things-for-me fall off the list. I'm healthy, I'm not in any at-risk category … I've been feeling like I should let others go first.

But the reality is that vaccination is never just about the individual.

When we vaccinate ourselves, we protect whānau, because we reduce the risk of serious illness. It isn't that vaccination protects you totally from Covid, but it reduces the severity of any infection, reducing the need for hospitalisation, and your chance of passing the virus on to someone more vulnerable.

Getting our community vaccinated also gives an extra layer of protection against lockdowns, supporting our economy, including Whangārei businesses. Once all New Zealanders have had the opportunity to be vaccinated, and we are confident we have coverage across key populations and good regional spread, we can also start the next step: a phased reopening of the border.

On Sunday, the Northland Indian Association celebrated two birthdays – 16 years in Whangarei and 74 years of Indian independence – by serving our community. Inspired by chairman Ralph Correa who has lost whanau to Covid back in India, they joined NDHB and opened the Sikh Temple as a drop-in Covid vaccination clinic for anyone over 16.

And so I got my first jab.

I am so grateful and proud to be one of those Northlanders who has had one of almost 84,000 vaccine doses, ahead of schedule and ahead of target.

Getting vaccinated is free, and if you don't like drop-in clinics, booking an appointment is easy. Everyone aged 50 plus, or in groups 1, 2 and 3, can book a vaccination online on the Book My Vaccine website or by calling 0800 28 29 26. Everyone over 16 can book a vaccination by September 1. Plus Northland DHB is also offering late-night clinics – an easy after-work option for busy people!

This is great news, and signals that our vaccination rollout has real momentum. However, we need to keep going: As we've seen in countries like Australia and Fiji, Delta is a game-changer in our risk calculation. It is more transmissable and could be devastating if it took hold here before we are fully vaccinated. Countries that have opened up too soon are seeing increases in cases. Even if we had the same success as the UK, where there is high vaccination uptake, we would be experiencing the equivalent of 48 deaths a week from Covid, nearly double what we have suffered in the entire pandemic to date.

The Northland Indian Association is holding another clinic in six weeks so if you haven't managed to get your first – or second – jab by then, why not join me there? I'll be the one with the scratched glasses and crazy hair.