New Direct Pacific COVID-19 Vaccination 0800 Number Launched For Pacific Communities

A new 0800 phone number is now available for Pacific people to call to get help making a free COVID-19 vaccination booking for the whole household.

The free 0800 21 12 21 number is for Pacific peoples aged 12 and over and focuses on booking Pacific people and their household bubble. It operates 7 days from 8am to 8pm.

The service is being provided by South Seas Healthcare, which is the longest established Pacific health provider in New Zealand.

South Seas CEO, Lemalu Silao Vaisola-Sefo says the new 0800 number is critical to helping boost the number of Pacific people getting vaccinated.

“South Seas Healthcare runs the Otara Vaccination site, which was the first Pacific vaccination site to be set up in Auckland. We also have a call centre as part of the COVID Healthline services so it made sense to set up an 0800 number for Pacific people to call and be able to speak to a Pacific staff member.”

The 0800 number has been set up to support the Northern Region Health Coordination Centre’s COVID-19 vaccination programme.

Moananu Anna Redican Kolose, Pacific Lead for COVID-19 vaccinations at the Northern Region Health Coordination Centre (NRHCC), says having the direct, free 0800 phone number for Pacific communities aims to help make it easier for Pacific people to get vaccinated.

“We’ve listened to the feedback we’ve been getting from Pacific people, who told us they wanted an easier way to book in. You can call this free number now to speak to a friendly Pacific person about the vaccine, and to get yourself and your whole bubble booked in.

“The vaccine is free and you don’t need to be a New Zealand resident to get it.

“You can book into one of our community vaccination centres, including our new drive-through site at the Park and Ride in Mangere. You can bring your whole family or bubble in the car, and anyone aged 12 and over can get vaccinated.”

Moananu says the service is not just about incoming calls.

“The team will also focus on doing outbound follow-ups to link Pacific people with outreach events in their neighbourhoods and eventually mobile services offered by Pacific providers.”

The 0800 21 12 21 number is answered by Pacific staff and offers language services in Samoan, Tongan, i-Kiribati and Cook Island languages and is looking to increase this to include other Pacific languages.

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