National Iwi Chairs Forum Pandemic Response Group

National Iwi Chairs Forum | Pandemic Response Group

Update 07 Dec 2021

Latest News

• Covid-19: Government buys new Pfizer antiviral drug to fight virus
  New Zealand has agreed to buy 60,000 courses of Pfizer’s oral antiviral treatment for Covid-19 in anticipation of it being approved for use by medicine regulator Medsafe.
• 90% first dose target reached for Māori in two DHBs
  Two DHBs, Auckland and Capital and Coast have now reached the 90 percent first dose vaccination target for Māori eligible for the Pfizer vaccine.
  The Tāmaki and Pōneke DHBs are closely followed by four other DHBs – Waitemata, MidCentral, Hutt Valley and Wairarapa DHBs, all with eligible Māori vaccination rates at or above 87% for first vaccinations.
• Delta has become a Māori pandemic, Waitangi Tribunal hearing told
  The New Zealand Māori Council has kicked off an urgent Waitangi Tribunal hearing this week. Māori organisations had unanimously rejected the shift to the traffic light system because of lagging vaccination rates, but their concerns and advice were ignored.
• WHO public health expert on the risk of Omicron 
  World Health Organisation spokesperson Dr Margaret Harris says the Covid-19 Omicron variant has “many more mutations” but it is yet to be found to be more severe than previous variants.
• Importance of partnership between govt, iwi shown in Te Tai Tokerau border model – Northland iwi Northland iwi say setting up roadblocks in partnership with police is crucial to help protect Māori communities in preparation of the Auckland borders reopening.
• Whānau Ora takes “bitter sweet” high court victory decision Whānau Ora Commissioning Agency Chair Merepeka Raukawa-Tait has described the high court decision over the release of Māori data as a bitter sweet victory because “while won the case, we won’t have time to use the data before the Auckland borders reopen next week.”

Government & Agency Updates

Government announcements and media releases relating to COVID-19.

• Latest on COVID-19 community outbreak – Tuesday, December 07 Today there are 98 new community cases of Covid-19 reported by the Ministry of Health (74 in Auckland, 10 in Waikato, 8 in Bay of Plenty, 5 in Nelson/Marlborough, 1 in Taranaki).
• Ministry of Health – John Whaanga, Deputy Director-General Māori Health Directorate – COVID-19 Response Update, 1st DecemberPfizer oral antiviral treatment, General updates.
• Ministry of Health – Whānau Māori Situation Report An updated report will be provided every Friday. It includes up to date information on total Māori case numbers and Māori vaccination rates across our DHBs.
• Unite Against COVID-19 – Care in the community Aotearoa New Zealand is now in the traffic light system, which has a new approach to how we manage COVID-19 in the community.

Research and Resources

COVID-19-related research and resources.

• Dr Rawiri Taonui – Vaccination gap Delta cases declining Māori hospitalisations rise
  There were 67 new Māori cases yesterday. Māori have the highest daily cases for 63 of the last 64 days. Māori also became the highest hospitalised ethnicity yesterday. There have been 103 new Māori hospitalisations since 1 November an increase of 145.1%.
• Vaccination uptake in Māori 18 years and over
  Full research report of an online survey of 799 Māori residing in Aotearoa, conducted between 14 and 21 October, 2021. A summary of the main points is also available here. (02 Dec 2021)
• Information resource pack for COVID-19 positive whānau and individuals
  Health Navigator have collated a range of COVID-19 topics to support COVID-19 positive people who are self-isolating/quarantining at home.
• Community Care Booklet – Support if you get COVID-19
• Readiness Checklist – Is your household ready if someone gets COVID-19
• What to expect when Self-Isolating

Other News Items

A news feed of media items relevant to Te Iwi Māori.

• Covid-19: Nurses’ online ICU training varies widely between DHBs 
  There are huge differences across country in the number of nurses doing the training the government says will keep ICUs going when Covid-19 surges.
• Covid-19 Delta outbreak: Some pharmacies criticised for charging to print vaccine passes Thousands of people have been accessing their vaccine passports through pharmacies in recent weeks, adding to already busy workloads.
• Courts to operate under transitional Covid-19 protocols until end of January 
  The country’s courts need more time to set up the infrastructure to operate under the traffic light system. Transitional protocols will be in place until the end of January, so systems to check vaccine passes and carry out rapid antigen tests can be set up.
• Covid-19 Omicron outbreak: Children hospitalised with ‘moderate to severe’ symptoms A South African doctor has warned that more children are being hospitalised with moderate to severe symptoms since the Omicron variant of the coronavirus took hold.
• Temporary exemptions available for those unable to obtain vaccine passes
  There’s now a short-term solution for the 70,000 people – including Georgie – who have had trouble obtaining their vaccine pass.