Pasifika and Māori students in Dunedin have completed the first mass Covid-19 vaccination clinic in the country aimed solely at students.
More than 2000 people got their jabs in two days at the Forsyth Barr Stadium walk-in pop-up centre, which aimed to provide a more accessible approach to the vaccination process.
Pasifika and Māori student associations have been lobbying for the centres for months.
Te Kāika, a local healthcare provider focusing on the needs of Māori, Pasifika and low-income families, operates a drive-in community clinic at the Edgar Centre carpark. However, because most students didn’t have cars, a walk-in clinic was also set up.
Melissa Lama, University of Otago Pacific Island Students Association president, told 1 NEWS the event was their way of showing support to others.
After seeing her own community at the centre of the current outbreak, there was even more motivation to get protected, she said.
"There was no way we weren't going to do anything."
Karamea Pēwhairangi, president of Te Roopū Māori O Te Whare Wananga O Otago, said the pop-up centre was designed to be welcoming.
"You're greeted by your peers and your whānau and people that you, on the daily, you call your aunts, your uncles and all of those people," she said.
Pasifika and Māori students who organised the event where over 2000 were jabbed say it won't be the last.
"It's important for us to provide that space so that people who are coming to get vaccinated feel comfortable."
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