Māori health providers in the top of the South Island - Te Tauihu - are connecting with youth through social media as part of the vaccine rollout.
Photo: RNZ Pacific/ Koroi Hawkins
In Nelson Marlborough, 16 percent of Māori aged between 12 and 29 are fully vaccinated and 44 percent have had their first jab.
That's behind the vaccination rate for youth of other ethnicities in Te Tauihu, and the rest of the country.
But those leading the drive are aiming to have 80 percent of Māori rangatahi in the top of the South Island vaccinated against Covid-19 by the end of the year.
Grayson Nepia (Tūhourangi Ngāti Wāhiao, Ngāti Rangiwewehi, Ngāti Whakaue, Pikiao) works for Māori Health provider Te Piki Oranga and at 23 years old, falls into the rangatahi category herself.
She understood the influence of social media on young people.
"That's how we all communicate is through Instagram through Snapchat, TikTok, Facebook, all that sort of thing. Especially during lockdown, most people were on their phones because they obviously weren't working or they were at home most of the time."
When the vaccine rollout began, Nepia suggested the Māori health provider start using TikTok and Instagram to engage with rangatahi.
"We took a lot of photos and videos of our clinics we were running during the Covid lockdown and we tried to include a few young people in them as well just to show them that other young people are getting vaccinated and and just getting their views and their experience of our clinics."
The aim was to ensure youth were educated and able to make informed decisions.
Nepia said they got a number of messages from people wanting to know more about the vaccine.
"I think because through social media and what we've been seeing from overseas of reactions or you know of other people, they're just wanting to know what exactly is in the vaccine and what the experience is like as well, so what happens from when you come to the clinic right to the end."
It's an ambitious goal, but Te Piki Oranga and other health services are aiming to have 80 percent of youth vaccinated by the end of the year.
Te Piki Oranga tumuaki/general manager Anne Hobby said being able to vaccinate youth earlier in the rollout would have made a difference.
"We wanted to get all our kaumātua vaccinated but we realised really early on, that's not where the bulk of our population lies.
"If the kaumātua came in with other family members then we did those family members while they were there and talked to them and I wished actually we had done that a bit more."
It was working alongside marae, Māori health provider Te Hauora O Ngāti Rārua, the local health board and primary health organisations as well as Te Kotahi o Te Tauihu charitable trust.
The trust was set up by the eight iwi in the Top of the South to collaborate on initiatives that support Māori through Cove and help them to thrive.
One of its trustees and Rangitāne O Wairau general manager Corey Hebberd (Rangitāne O Wairau) said a number of initiatives are underway to connect with rangatahi, the last group to be eligible for vaccination.
It had been running kai and korero events at secondary schools in the region and had visited Nelson College and Queen Charlotte College.
"It's really just starting our rangatahi engagement and working with our rangatahi so that they have an understanding of the vaccine programme. Because we know that when our whānau have the information that they need that they make really good decisions."
With a lot of misinformation about Covid-19 in the community he said allowing youth a platform to pātai and seek information was important.
At Turuki Healthcare in Auckland, chief executive Te Puea Winiata (Ngāti Ranginui, Ngāi te Rangi) was seeing rangatahi choosing to get the jab because they want to travel or get a job.
She said for the younger generation, an adult voice isn't always the most influential.
"It's the social influences, whether that's at a national level or a local level, is really key rangatahi telling their own story to other rangatahi is going to be huge."
Māori health providers worked in an intuitive and integrated way and best understood the needs of their communities and schools, she said. They played a crucial role in connecting rangatahi and whānau to address concerns about Covid and the vaccine.
