Dunedin's first vaccination bus is now up and running thanks to Ngāi Tahu-operated health provider Te Kāika.
It set up one of the country’s first drive-in vaccination centres in the Edgar Centre carpark, and held a pop-up clinic for University students at Forsyth Barr Stadium.
Te Kāika’s innovative approach has seen them vaccinate a quarter of Dunedin residents, and they’re hoping to build on that with their latest four-wheeled addition.
Staff saw what was happening in the northern region with buses Shot Cuz and Shot Bro and decided to replicate the system in Dunedin.
Te Kāika’s chief executive, Albie Laurence, says there’s still a low vaccination rate in the city amongst Māori, Pasifika and low-income households, and the bus is designed to reach them in their neighbourhoods.
“All the research points that if you can get closer to where people live you have better uptake in wellness products and vaccination is really our best protection for Covid,” he said.
"We're targeting predominantly the suburbs so the likes of Brockville, there's still a low vaccination rate in St Kilda and St Clair, Corstorphine and surrounding suburbs on the hills and some of the areas out in Mosgiel."
A schedule for the bus will be published in local papers and on Facebook.
It’ll visit a range of locations, including community centres, outside schools, the university, and some larger businesses.
“People who are engaged with their own health and have the means to come have been vaccinated, so now we’re taking a bit more of a public health approach,” Laurence said.
"Going out to those - for other means and reasons - struggle to come in and get vaccinated at their GP practice or mass vaccination centre so we're just wanting to make it as accessible as possible.”
In Dunedin, 80 per cent of residents have had their first jab, and Te Kāika’s aiming to have 90 per cent of the city vaccinated by December.
Charitable trust Ōtākou Health Limited says giving communities easy access to the vaccine is critical to hit that 90 per cent target.
“Access has always been an issue for whānau,” Matt Matahaere from Ōtākou Health Limited said.
“If we go and sit in community hotspots where a lot of whānau come, we anticipate that we will get a lot of numbers coming through.
“We're really about innovation so it’s about looking at how we can we do this how can we partner with our community and really just get out there and vaccine all our whānau.”
The bus doesn’t have a name yet, but Te Kāika says it will let the community decide on one in the coming weeks.
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