Covid-19 Omicron outbreak: Manurewa Marae false vaccination allegations shot down

If you have COVID-19, this video explains what to watch for and when to seek medical advice. Video / Health Navigator NZ

An allegation of false vaccinations at Manurewa Marae's centre is "unfounded", according to Auckland's vaccination programme authority.

A Northern Region Health Co-ordination Centre (NRHCC) spokesperson today confirmed the allegation, made through media enquiries last week, was not substantiated after a joint review by NRHCC and the marae.

The allegation claimed false vaccinations had occurred, whereby a person was marked down as having been vaccinated when they hadn't.

The claim prompted an email to marae staff from chief executive Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp, outlining the allegation and that an in-house review would take place.

Manurewa Marae chief executive Takutai Moana Natasha Kemp. Photo / Michael Craig

NRHCC later confirmed it would support the review.

Today, a spokesperson said NRHCC was "comfortable that, based on all of the information currently available, the allegations made against the site are unfounded".

They said further investigation could occur if more information was provided.

Manurewa Marae has administered more than 43,000 vaccinations and was a popular site for South Auckland communities.

Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency chief executive John Tamihere, who acted as spokesperson given the marae's link to Whānau Ora, told the NZ Herald on Friday the review confirmed the centre's integrity.

"I'm very happy with the review we've conducted to ensure that the system has the same probity of all vaccination centres up and down the country," he said.

Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency chief executive John Tamihere. Photo / Peter de Graaf

He said the review examined how vaccines were received at the site, how they were tracked through to vaccination, how a person's information was verified and the in-person supervision by multiple staff during vaccination.

Tamihere, also head of Te Whānau o Waipareira which had its own vaccination centre, did acknowledge it wasn't impossible for false vaccinations to be done, but without more specific information relating to the allegation, there was little more the marae could do.

"Unless you can get the time and the date [of the false vaccination], it's a needle in a haystack.

"There's no system designed by man that has ever been designed to overcome the stupid or crooked.

"Is there the possibility of someone squirting [the vaccine] outside the arm? Yes, there is but where is the evidence for that because the allegation could apply to everybody."

"We can absolutely assert that the integrity of services delivered at Manurewa Marae are unimpeachable ..."