Covid 19 Delta outbreak: Southern farmgate vaccination tour hits the road

Southland Mayor Gary Tong (left) and Gore Mayor Tracy Hicks are rolling up their sleeves to take part in the Farmgate tour, in which mobile Covid-19 vaccination clinics will visit small rural Southland communities. Photo / Supplied

The Farmgate tour being undertaken by southern councils and health providers is aiming to make it easier for rural communities to get vaccinated.

The tour hit the road this week with Southland Mayor Gary Tong visiting Western and Northern Southland, and Gore Mayor Tracy Hicks covering Eastern and Southern Southland.

The two mayors will be towing caravans with staff from Southern Health and will stop in at small communities to allow people in more isolated areas to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

The teams will return at the end of November for people to get their second dose of the vaccine.

The mayors, who came up with the idea of the tour, said it made sense for Southland's two rural-focused councils to join forces.

"Covid-19 doesn't recognise local government boundaries. Anything we can do to make it easier for people in more remote areas to get vaccinated and lift the region's rate above 90 per cent has got to be good," Hicks said.

"We're best in the country at a lot of things. Let's be best at being vaccinated," he said.

Tong said the team was keen to get in and help as it knew that many rural people were busy at the moment and did not have time to travel an hour or more to get a vaccination.

"We're hoping to see lots of people getting a vaccination so we can help all of New Zealand move forward," he said.

Southern Covid-19 vaccine programme lead Hamish Brown said he was grateful for the support of councils and businesses to reach more remote populations.

"The more people who are vaccinated, the better protection our community has against Covid-19 and the sooner we can get back to doing the things we love."