August 08, 2021
OPINION: Low Maori & Pacifica vaccination rates demands urgent attention
Martyn 'Bomber' Bradbury: The latest stats from last weeks South Auckland mass vaccination event show what we are seeing in vaccination stats from border workers, that Māori & Pacifica vaccination rates are woefully low.
This data is remarkably frustrating because this is a lesson Pākehā Health systems have been warned about since the 2019s measles epidemic.
Community outreach doesn’t work if you don’t have anyone the Community trusts to reach out!
It is no surprise whatsoever that People of Colour don’t trust Pākehā dominated health services, especially if they are overstayers. That history of mistrust is deep and requires a totally different response.
An overstayer amnesty, Māori Health Authority and properly funded Community outreach should be starting points.
If we don’t radically shift attention to empowering communities to reach out in their own voice and culture then we can never reach a high enough herd immunity level to move past COVID.
All this money and effort to vaccinate will be wasted if we can’t reach everyone.
There can’t be any successful vaccination program if Māori and Pacifica are not included.
Martyn Bradbury
Editor – TheDailyBlog.nz
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