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National | Health

Dr Rawiri Taonui says trans-Tasman bubble shouldn’t open until Australasia achieves immunity through vaccination

Dr Rawiri Taonui says the trans-Tasman bubble between Aotearoa and Australia shouldn’t open until both countries have achieved immunity through vaccination.

His comment came after Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said she hoped to confirm a timeframe for the bubble “very soon” but couldn’t put a date on quarantine-free travel.

Taonui says, “My view is that we shouldn’t talk about a travel bubble with Australia until both countries have achieved immunity through vaccination and until we’ve both simultaneously had at least two weeks of zero cases including both in the community and at the border, and we’re a long way from that."

Taonui says New Zealand and Australia are doing well with vaccinations but both countries are sitting at less than one per cent of the population vaccinated.

“So any decision with a travel bubble is going to be premature.”

Taonui says there are already high numbers of people coming across the New Zealand border and while active cases are being managed in MIQ (managed isolation facilities) “the more people we have coming in, the more pressure that places on the system”.

“If we look at all the breaches we’ve had in managed isolation hotels and at the border, they’ve all occurred when we’ve been bringing in more than 2100 people a week and when we’ve been managing more than 30 active cases in MIQ, " he says.

“Over the past eight days, we’ve brought in 3000 people across the border, so that’s really high, and each day in the last week has set a new record for the number of active cases being managed in MIQ. As of yesterday 97. So those numbers are really high and the fact of the matter is we’re probably looking at another breach of the border within the next week or two.”

Taonui also says opening the border now could pose a risk to Pacific communities.

“So the risk you have is of the virus sneaking into New Zealand and the double risk of sneaking into New Zealand and then perhaps sneaking onward into the Pacific and I think that risk is just too great.”

Extra support 

Associate Health Minister Aupito William Sio says the government will provide a funding boost to Pacific health providers to assist them with the delivery of the government’s Covid-19 vaccination campaign in Pacific communities.

“Our Pacific providers know and can reach our communities best. They will have access to vaccines on a rolling basis. This will enable them to vaccinate as many people as they can reach," he says.

“These providers are trusted. They have the language skills and cultural intelligence to engage with Pacific communities effectively. They will mobilise vaccination services to make it easy for people to access services, such as holding temporary clinics in our churches, workplaces and where our communities gather."

Sio says the second tranche of vaccinations will focus on non-border frontline workers and those living in high-risk settings. This includes those in the Counties Manukau DHB district over the age of 65 years or who live with relevant underlying health conditions.

“This will also include older members of our Pacific communities who don’t live in residential care facilities. This is important as we know many of our older Pacific peoples live at home supported by their aiga,” Sio says.