Covid-19 coronavirus Delta outbreak: Black Power gang members get vaccinated

More than 100 Black Power gang members and their whānau have today been vaccinated against Covid-19 in South Auckland.

Auckland Black Power president Mark Pitman gets vaccinated against Covid-19 at Riverside Community Centre in Mt Wellington Auckland. Photo / Supplied

New Zealand's Shot Bro vaccination bus was parked up at the Riverside Community Centre in Mt Wellington from 11am until about 4pm today while giving 102 people the jab.

Manurewa-Papakura Ward Councillor Daniel Newman had been getting behind the drive to reach at-risk communities and said it was "a very successful day".

More than 100 Black Power gang members and there whanau flocked to the Shot Bro bus to get vaccinated against Covid. Photo / Supplied

"The community reached out because they want to be safe and everybody deserves to be safe and we are only going to beat Covid if everyone is."

He said Auckland Black Power president Mark Pitman made the decision to be the first one to get the jab as he wanted to lead by example.

"What Mark said in his karakia at the end was, we all want to get out of lockdown and be safe, kids want to go play touch and get back to the freedoms of life and it's necessary for us to get those vaccinations as high as possible to protect people against Covid-19."

Manurewa-Papakura Ward Councillor Daniel Newman says getting vaccinated was a significant contribution to public health. Photo / Supplied

Newman said they were now reaching the bedrock of those people who were difficult to sway and hesitant about getting the vaccine.

He congratulated the community leaders and everybody who lined up to get their vaccination.

"Getting vaccinated is a significant contribution to public health and my view is that everybody was there for the right reasons and everybody made an informed decision to get vaccinated."