Covid 19 Delta outbreak: Herald includes booster coverage in vaccine tracker

The Herald's daily Covid vaccination tracker will now include the percentage of eligible people who have received their booster shot.

It comes as Omicron continues to knock on New Zealand's door, with experts warning it's a matter of when, not if, the new variant will creep into our community.

More than half a million booster shots have been administered across the country. Photo / Dean Purcell

Booster shots are been dubbed by the Ministry of Health as our key defence to stopping the spread of the highly contagious and ​potentially deadly virus.

The vaccine tracker, printed on the front page of the newspaper and at the top of the Herald's online site, has become a vital tool for keeping New Zealander's up to date with our progress.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the Ministry of Health said a total of 548,733 booster shots have already been administered nationwide, while 95 per cent of eligible people had had one dose of the vaccine and 92 per cent were double-jabbed.

In the past 24 hours, 47,796 booster doses were given, a record to date.

Māori are edging closer to the 90 per cent mark, with 88 per cent with their first jab and 82 per cent fully vaccinated.

Of eligible Pacific peoples, 95 per cent had received their first dose and 92 per cent were fully vaccinated.

No longer will the Herald be including the percentage of first doses administered in the vaccine tracker.

Booster vaccines became available in late November 2021.

From January 17, anyone who has had their second dose more than four months ago can book a booster at BookMyVaccine.nz.

Many clinics are accepting walk-ins for boosters, or bookings could be made by calling the Covid Vaccination Healthline team on 0800 28 29 26.

The looming Omicron threat has also led one epidemiologist to warn that the Government should delay schools reopening until enough children have been vaccinated.

Kids aged 5-11 can be vaccinated from January 17, with more than half a million paediatric doses of the Pfizer vaccine arriving in the country on the weekend. Around 476,000 children will be eligible but it will be up to parents or caregivers to consent for them to get the jab.