Editorial: Saturday's good vibes just the start if we want an enjoyable summer

South Seas volunteer Ana Kivalu at the Ōtara vaccination event on Super Saturday. Photo / Dean Purcell

EDITORIAL

Despite the good vibes from the weekend's vaccination drive, it is clear Auckland is still in for a long haul before the holidays.

The city is likely to hit its first-dose target of 90 per cent this week for residents aged 12 and over. It has about 20,000 to go and last week was vaccinating at a rate of about 4000 first doses daily.

More than 41,000 Aucklanders received vaccine shots during Super Saturday, including about 9000 who got their first doses.

However, even if all those first-timers get their second shots in exactly three weeks time, it would still be two weeks later - November 20 - before full immunity would kick in. It would be surprising if restrictions in the city were eased much before then. There have been at least 125 unlinked cases in the past fortnight.

Although daily coronavirus case numbers have fallen in recent days, the Government has said numbers are expected to rise in the next two weeks.

Despite the impressive nationwide total of 130,000 people getting shots in one day, there's still a daunting 15 per cent of the eligible 4.21 million population unvaccinated.

That means, even if there is a steady daily stream of unvaccinated people getting jabbed from now on, the five-week rule would push the inoculation timeline into December, if the country hopes to achieve a vaccination rate of about 95 per cent.

When the rollout is looked at through the lens of the country's wider population, the long way to go looks even longer.

Only 3.5 million or 70 per cent of Kiwis have had one dose. In total, 54 per cent have had two doses.

At some stage, children between the ages of 5 and 11 will likely join the list of those eligible for shots, which would help boost the overall rate.

Ideally, the rollout needs more people to come forward and sooner rather than later. Does that mean more major mass events such as Super Saturday? Or perhaps methods that worked on Saturday - giveaways, including food, in a relaxed setting - could be used at a smaller scale?

Mandates; a new app that will show Covid test results; and a vaccination certificate will provide different kinds of incentives to get shots. Getting into major summer events is likely to depend on having a vax pass.

Epidemiologist Professor Rod Jackson said those unsure about getting vaccinated need to hear more from community leaders. "I think Jacinda and Ashley need to take the back seat. And we need to put Māori and Pacific leaders, leaders of the gangs, GPs, in the front seat," he said.

The vaccination drive succeeded in drawing a strong response from Māori with nearly 22,000 getting shots. Nationally about 66 per cent of Māori have had one shot, with 44 per cent double vaxxed. That compares to 80 and 59 per cent for Pasifika, and 85 and 65 per cent for eligible New Zealanders overall.

In the weeks ahead, the warmer weather should help, ensuring people spend more time outdoors than indoors and making it harder for the virus to spread.

If we want an enjoyable summer, a lot more work is required to get there.