The West Coast is falling behind when it comes to uptake of the Covid-19 vaccine, sitting stubbornly low at 71 percent for first jabs.
That compares poorly to the rest of Te Wai Pounamu where the average is sitting up at 80 percent.
A rural health expert says a slow uptake is repeated in remote areas around the country and this is a reflection of poor access to rural health services.
Conan Young reports.
