This year's flu vaccine rollout has struck the one million mark, and ministers celebrating the milestone today say they are keen to keep up the momentum.
Minister of Health Andrew Little visited vaccinators at the Pasefika Family Health Group in Auckland today to mark the occasion by cutting a cake. Photo: Katie Todd/RNZ
It comes with healthcare workers grappling with a sickness surge across the motu - and another one million flu shots waiting to be used.
Minister of Health Andrew Little visited vaccinators at the Pasefika Family Health Group in Auckland today to mark the occasion by cutting a cake.
Little acknowledged there was an urgent need.
"We're certainly seeing some hospitals, and some ED departments in some hospitals, really under the pump. We've seen CM, we've seen Wellington, Canterbury, we've seen Auckland is feeling it as well. We know that a lot of people turning up - this isn't a whole bunch more people with Covid-19 anymore. This is people with flu symptoms, with respiratory symptoms," he said.
"I've just been with the ambulance service too. They're saying a lot of their callouts are people with flu symptoms."
Little was keen to see more people come forward for a jab.
One million is only half the total number of vaccines the government ordered this year.
With anyone over the age of six months able to get a flu vaccine, there are still just over four million people who have not been vaccinated.
RNZ spoke to some of those people on the streets of Panmure, who said they simply did not see the need.
"I haven't had a flu - well, a proper flu, for probably 20-odd years," said one.
"I've never had one and it's never been a problem," said another.
One man explained there had been another much more dominant illness on his mind.
"To be honest I stopped thinking about all the things going around - no one talks about anything except Covid."
Among the people who had been vaccinated, RNZ found one thing in common.
"I get it for free from work and it just makes sense," said one.
"I was quite lucky they came into the residence where I was staying... and just asked if we wanted it for free... and that's the good thing, that it's free," said another.
In February, the government widened the eligibility for people to get vaccinated for free.
But figures provided to RNZ by the Ministry of Health today showed just 18.1 percent of the population met the new criteria - a total of 914,920 people.
Some doctors said that was not enough, and they wanted it to be free for everyone.
Asked if he would consider that idea, Little argued cost was not necessarily the biggest barrier.
"We'll keep an eye on what's happening. For a lot of people I get this message, it's just fitting it into busy lives. Even a lot of our health workers, who work so hard, they struggle hard to get that, because there's 20 minutes observation time they've got to build into it."
Pasefika Family Health Group has administered about 500 flu jabs to date.
General manager Vaifagaloa Naseri said more people were becoming interested, having seen others around them get sick.
"The flu this time is worse, so that's why they're rushing in. They even ring us and say 'can we still come for our flu vaccine, even if we're sick?' If you're sick, don't come," she said.
Her simple message was: Do not wait until it is too late.
