Waikato DHB Expanding Mobile Vaccination Programme

Tuesday, 2 November 2021, 12:27 pm
Press Release: Waikato District Health Board

Access is no barrier - we are EVERYWHERE

 COVID-19 mobile pop-up clinics are now running all over the Waikato.

Waikato DHB began expanding its mobile vaccination programme in early October and it is gathering pace with vaccinations offered at over 50 locations this week (WB 1 November).

Some of the clinics are run by the DHB and others by local kaupapa Māori or Pacific providers.

Locations include supermarket car parks, local halls, school grounds, community centres and marae – anywhere the teams can set up a gazebo and put out a couple of chairs.

Waikato COVID-19 vaccination programme lead Maree Munro says a mobile effort was part of the vaccine rollout from the beginning, given the large and diverse area Waikato DHB covers.

“Our kaupapa Māori providers went on the road to offer vaccinations in smaller, more remote locations from the start. That’s one of the reasons our kaumātua vaccination rate is very strong.”

97.7% of Maori Kaumatua and 95.7% of Pacific Kaumatua over 65 have had at least 1 dose.

Central locations such as Hamilton and Cambridge were now highly vaccinated and close to passing 90% first doses. The DHB is now increasing focus on rural areas, and other parts of the Waikato with historically lower access to healthcare.

Munro said the vaccination programme had now expanded to include a larger-scale, more agile mobile model.

“It means we can respond quickly when the data shows vaccination rates in a particular area are lagging and need a boost.”

The mobiles also give people the chance to come and ask questions and have a one-on-one discussion with someone with credible information. 
 

“In some of the smaller areas we go to, having those local and trusted faces at the vaccination site, who people can relate to and be comfortable to ask questions helps people make up their minds,” Munro says.

The mobile clinics are walk-in only. Details of the schedule are posted on the DHB’s Facebook page and website: waikatodhb.health.nz/covid19mobile.

“We want to make it as easy as possible for people to be vaccinated, particularly our most vulnerable,” Munro says.

“We’re at the point in the programme where we are focused on vaccinating hundreds of people, not the tens of thousands when we first started. That’s going to take a lower key approach that is very much about talking, providing good information and reassurance, and being in the community.

A key focus of the mobile programme is on increasing Māori vaccination rates by visiting neighbourhoods where Māori vaccinations are particularly low or attending events with high Māori attendance.

As of 1 November, Waikato vaccination sites have delivered 564,088 COVID-19 vaccinations, 86.7 per cent of the eligible population has had one dose and 72.2% are fully vaccinated.

• 72.9% of Māori have received their first dose and 51.6% are fully vaccinated
• 90.1% non-Māori have received their first dose and 77.2% are fully vaccinated.

The full list of Waikato vaccination sites for Monday 4 November to Sunday 7 November:

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Waikato District Health Board

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