A health worker administers vaccinations at a pop-up drive-in clinic in Auckland. Photo / Dean Purcell
EDITORIAL
As the country heads into a narrow tunnel of options on the Delta outbreak, the Government will hope today's "Super Saturday" vaccination event will provide a glimmer of light.
It has been made clear that the Government believes there is no going back. Vaccinations are the pillars of New Zealand's Covid-19 strategy now, backed currently by alert level 3 restrictions in Auckland, isolation of cases, and test and trace.
Daily community case numbers have been relatively high for days: 60 on Sunday, 43 on Monday, 55 on Tuesday and 71 on Wednesday. That's still very low by international standards for a Delta outbreak, but is a two- to three-fold increase on numbers of a few weeks ago.
Director of Public Health Dr Caroline McElnay said on Thursday that daily case numbers at the level of 170 to 180 would put pressure on the health system.
The Government has so far rejected the possibility of a short, sharp return to level 4 in Auckland. Instead the message being delivered is, it's on all of us to get vaccinated and to stick to the level 3 rules.
Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson said on Thursday that: "We can actively control this outbreak at alert level 3."
He said the virus tended to be spread in households, and also via home gatherings - which aren't allowed under level 3. "We need people in Auckland to stick to the ... rules". It is "everyone's job in Auckland to help prevent its spread".
He added: "Treat those around you as if they may have Covid. Limit contact with others and maintain physical distance. Wear a mask whenever you go out of the house. Use the contact tracer app wherever you go. Wash your hands regularly and get vaccinated. It is the best tool we have to protect ourselves from the virus and eventually move down our alert levels."
Such advice, although it has been mentioned in Covid-19 briefings many times before, sounds a bit different now that the Government and health authorities are in a new phase of some work mandates, vaccine certificates, and planning other measures including how cases could be managed by the health system.
Director-general of health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said yesterday that New Zealand hadn't been able to get back to zero cases but "the future has come forward - let's embrace it".
Some people might hear an undertone of "you're on your own" in those statements, especially after 18 months of coronavirus controls and considering Auckland is a step below the - still available to the Government - heavier restrictions of level 4.
At least some pandemic experts and Maori health advocatesargue a tougher approach is still required while the rollout continues.
There have been solid vaccination rates this week of around 70,000 daily. And the partial vaccination rate of the eligible population overall is 83 per cent, including 60 per cent with two jabs. Robertson stressed that while Auckland was at 87 per cent for one dose and 66 per cent for the second, those levels have to be over 90 per cent.
A key dilemma the Government has faced is how to maintain the impetus for vaccination.
Fear of Delta appears to have stirred vaccination surges in the Waikato and Northland and, at times during lockdown, in Auckland. Mandates and vaccine certificates create conditions where people face the choice of joining in or missing out.
Today's nationwide "Super Saturday" event, which sounds like a sports match triple-header, will be a test of whether benign incentives can work better at encouraging vaccination.
Air New Zealand's headline-grabbing decision to transform a Boeing 787 Dreamliner jet into a clinic, is already a success with 300 people booked to get jabbed in business class.
Super Saturday is forecast to be mostly fine and warm in Auckland. Vaccination areas will be offering spot prizes, live music, free ice cream, coffee, and sausage sizzles all in an attempt to tempt the 13 per cent of eligible unvaccinated people into getting a first shot.
Mobile jab buses and vans will be out, aiming to reach people. GP clinics and pharmacies that are part of the rollout will be open.
Overall, it may provide a focus and sense of unity around the vaccination drive. It could perhaps persuade some people sitting on the fence that they don't want to be left behind.
If it turns out to be underwhelming, other options will be looked at.