After four lockdowns, Auckland mayor calls for city to move up Covid-19 vaccine queue

Auckland’s mayor is asking the Government for Aucklanders to be put at “the front of the line” for the Covid-19 vaccine rollout.

Speaking about the alert level change for Auckland this morning, Phil Goff said he was please South Auckland’s vulnerable were part of Group 2’s vaccine rollout, but says he'd like to see the rest of the city vaccinated quicker.

“We would like to see when it comes to the geographical rollout of the vaccine for Auckland to be at the front of the line,” he says.

With Auckland hosting most of the quarantine and managed isolation facilities for the country, Goff reiterated the risk the city has and still faces due to the virus.

“This is the city that has been through four Level 3 lockdowns. So my message to the Government is ‘You’ve done a great job. Thank you for putting South Auckland at the front, but we would like that rollout early in Auckland.'”

Goff says he wouldn’t want residents to be put ahead of the vulnerable, but just that the city is vaccinated before the rollout to the rest of the country.

His comments come as the Government moved Auckland out of Alert Level 2 today to Level 1.