Covid 19 Delta outbreak: What makes Tauranga vulnerable

Dr Dion O'Neale said Tauranga had a bit more age vulnerability when compared to other places in New Zealand. Photo / Supplied

Age "stands out" as a factor that makes Tauranga's population vulnerable to a Covid-19 outbreak should one arise, says an investigator.

While the whole of New Zealand was vulnerable to Covid-19 outbreaks, some communities were more so than others.

Te Pūnaha Matatini investigator Dr Dion O'Neale said Tauranga had "a bit more age vulnerability" in comparison to other places in New Zealand, and it was a "distinctive factor" when compared to Rotorua.

The Ministry of Health had identified age as a risk factor when contracting Covid-19, he said.

"[Older people] get worse health outcomes when [they] are infected … so it's higher death rates, it's [a] higher number of people with bad symptoms and hospital admissions.

"Vaccination is a great way to reduce [the] vulnerability of people who are vulnerable for other factors."

Te Pūnaha Matatini investigator and lecturer at the University of Auckland Dr Dion O'Neale. Photo / Supplied

O'Neale said there were suburbs in Tauranga where there was a high age vulnerability, a high health vulnerability, and some areas were high on both.

Other than the vaccine, O'Neale said the other thing elderly people could do to protect themselves was talking to their families about them getting vaccinated.

"Spread your influence as wide as you can and make that a positive influence encouraging people to get vaccinated as opposed to a negative influence of potentially spreading a disease."

Tauranga residents should also be "super vigilant" in order to "completely stop" any potential spread of the virus, he said.

"As soon as you get symptoms, isolate at home, don't go to work, don't send the kids to daycare, go out [and] get a test."

O'Neale said there were two parts in assessing the vulnerability of a Covid-19 outbreak - vulnerability and transmission risk.

The transmission risk accounts for the patterns of connections of people in a typical week, such as work and school.

Tauranga had a "quite high transmission risk", some of which O'Neale attributed to people travelling from Tauranga to Auckland or Hamilton for work.

But O'Neale said "once you're in the middle of the outbreak", vulnerability mattered more than the transmission risk.

Te Pūnaha Matatini researcher Dr Emily Harvey. Photo / Supplied

Te Pūnaha Matatini researcher Dr Emily Harvey said urban centres generally had a "much higher risk of transmission".

"That's where more people live and it's also where people work at bigger organisations, so you'll have bigger schools [and] bigger workplaces. That's kind of the key driver.

"It's the connectedness of the whole network."

Harvey said there were "a bunch of economic factors" that determined if people were forced by social conditions to be exposed more to potential infection.

She made the comparison between those working in essential services and those who could stay home, isolate and only go shopping every two weeks.

Ngai Te Rangi chief executive Paora Stanley said Tauranga's vulnerability to a Covid-19 outbreak was "absolutely" a worry for Māori communities.

Stanley, an essential worker at Mount Maunganui during the level 4 lockdown, said it was the middle class who created vulnerability to Covid-19.

"It's the middle class wandering around down there like the rules don't apply to them. And that happens consistently," he said.

"The elderly or the more immune-deficient communities like some of ours – they take the brunt of it."

Stanley said he was involved with marae vaccination programmes for Māori communities.

"The vaccination clinics we work with operate out of marae and gathering places … they're seen as familiar and safe places.

"If you're living out in Katikati, having a vaccinating [clinic] at your marae is much easier particularly when you've got [an] economically more vulnerable population who can't just drive into town at the whim."

Ngai Te Rangi chief executive Paora Stanley pictured in 2020. Photo / NZME

The Bay of Plenty District Health Board Covid-19 incident controller Trevor Richardson said community engagement and partnerships with Māori and iwi hauora providers had been a "core element" of the Bay of Plenty's vaccine rollout.

"We've been proactively reaching out to community groups to offer the vaccine in the way that best meets the needs of the Bay of Plenty's diverse communities.

"Our team are committed to delivering an equitable Covid-19 vaccine rollout, and doing what it takes to ensure everyone in Te Moana ā Toi is offered the vaccine."

The board had noticed a "significant increase" in vaccination uptake during levels 3 and 4.

Between August 24 and September 7, there was a 35 per cent increase for all Bay of Plenty residents in the number of first doses of the Covid-19 vaccination.

"We're pleased to have seen such a positive response to the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in the Bay of Plenty, with more than 133,000 people having received at least one dose of the Covid-19 Pfizer vaccine in the district," he said.

"Early partnership with Māori and iwi hauora providers has been critical to this success, and we're excited to now have more than 35 providers offering the vaccine throughout the district including GPs and pharmacies.

"People can get walk-in appointments at our community vaccination centres at Baypark in Mount Maunganui, and on Quay St in Whakatāne, and also at several pharmacies throughout the Bay."

Residents can find a vaccination clinic in their neighbourhood by visiting the Healthpoint website.