Covid-19 coronavirus: Auckland vaccination invites for those aged over 65

All Aucklanders aged 65 and over will receive a Covid vaccination invite within the next week.

Four new community vaccination centres are also due to open in Albany, Tamaki, Pukekohe and Takanini by the end of June.

More than 110,000 people aged 65+ in the Auckland region will have received an invitation by text or email by Friday, health officials announced today.

The invitations will be issued automatically via text message or email, so people will not need to do anything until they receive their invitation.

All remaining Group 3 invitations, including the 164,000 Aucklanders who have underlying health conditions, will be sent by mid-July.

"We're really excited to be extending our programme further to keep more of our older population safe," said Matt Hannant, programme lead at Northern Region Health Coordination Centre.

"The vaccines are free and an important part of keeping our community safe and protected from Covid-19."

Hannant advised people to make a booking as soon as an invitation was received, warning that some vaccination centres may be busy.

"We have a range of centres available across Auckland, so if your nearest centre is busy you can also check our other centres nearby for availability."

People in Group 1 and 2 were encouraged to call 0800 282 926 if they hadn't made a booking.

This included people aged over 65 in South Auckland and older Maori and Pacific communities, who were originally told to wait for an invitation to be vaccinated.

General practices and pharmacies administering vaccines would increase in number over the coming months.