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National | Dave Letele - Brown Buttabean

BBM offering $10,000 as motivation to get vaccinated

Dave Letele says he will use any means necessary to get people vaccinated: "I think we should do as many as it takes, whatever it takes".

Manurewa Marae and Pak'nSave Manukau, have teamed up with Letele's BBM Motivation to help get more people in South Auckland vaccinated and are offering large cash prizes as an incentive.

Letele says, "We are putting up five thousand dollars cash today and tomorrow, and it's as simple as coming down, putting your name down, getting vaccinated, and then you go into the draw".

This follows on the back of the incredible numbers recorded on Super Saturday. For Māori vaccinations, 10,941 shots were first doses and 10,874-second doses.

And Nicole Andrews of Manurewa Marae says they are using anything and everything to get the job done and to help Letele drive up the numbers of vaccinated people in South Auckland.

Just the fact that he has come on board and somebody like Letele himself, I know he is busy and just leading by example.

"Anything they have to offer and bring on board as an incentive to our whānau and our families to get vaccinated. If that's what it takes, then that's what we are gonna do."

Covid-19 takes a toll

Another person to lend his hand is Tuala Tagaloa Tusani. Covid struck both Tuala and his wife, and he says he knows the toll the virus can take on vulnerable families.

'By the time the ambulance picked her up, she was 42.7 degrees, and the doctors had said she was a couple of degrees away from losing her life from what they call the death fever; I'm no medical expert, but when I saw her on the bed I didn't even click. I couldn't even look after myself, let alone her."

But the Brown Butterbean says many people are critical of offering large amounts of money for people to get vaccinated.

"Why are we doing this when there are hungry kids? Well, the fact of the matter is we're feeding hungry kids every single day. We helped in the first four weeks of lockdown 12,000 people. We've gone to emergency housing where kids are going through the rubbish looking for food."

The Shot Cuzz bus will be at Manukau Pak'nSave till Tuesday afternoon for those who want to come and get vaccinated and maybe win the $5,000.