by Maisie Lund was born a few years after the 1918 flu epidemic now, the 101-year-old has received her first Covid-19 jab.
Lund, who lives at Kpiti Coast residential care site Summerset on the Coast, received her first dose of the Pfizer vaccine on Tuesday.
New Zealands Covid-19 vaccination rollout officially began on February 20, with the first jabs going to border and Managed Isolation and Quarantine (MIQ) workers. As of Wednesday, more than 183,300 doses had been administered.
Lunds daughter, Chris Booth, said she had spoken to her mother about getting the injection. She was more than willing to have it done to protect herself and others.
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Over the next few weeks, community pharmacy and General Practitioner (GP) vaccinators will provide vaccines to residents and staff in aged residential care across Hutt Valley, Wellington, Porirua and the Kpiti Coast.
A health worker prepares a dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine. (File photo)
Fellow resident Joe Soeberg, 92, was more than happy to be vaccinated.
Any suggestion that you might not get vaccinated youre not being fair to others. You can feel however you want but dont be a risk to other people.
CAPITAL & COAST DISTRICT HEALTH/Supplied
Joe Soeberg, 92, says he is more than happy to be vaccinated.
William Moffat was the last to be vaccinated on the day, and said he didnt even notice the needle.
Everyone around me was yahooing and whooping with joy. I didnt even know Id had it, Moffat said.
Lund, Soeberg and Moffat were three of 37 aged-care residents to be vaccinated from Summerset, along with 38 care staff and 15 extra village residents.
CAPITAL & COAST DISTRICT HEALTH/Supplied
William Moffat says he did not even know he had the jab because people were celebrating.
Residents and staff at the remaining aged residential care facilities across the region will receive their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccination by mid-May, with second doses to follow.
Summerset’s general manager of operations, Eleanor Young, said its focus was on working within that roll-out and doing the very best by its staff and residents.
Latest Covid-19 vaccine data from the Ministry of Health said 29,149 people aged 60 and over had received their first dose. The number of second doses administered in that group was 6810.
New Zealand Aged Care Association chief executive Simon Wallace says our care homes have been ready for some time and the vaccines are in the country, sitting in cold storage when they should be in peoples arms.
Simon Wallace, chief executive of the New Zealand Aged Care Association said on the whole, vaccine rollouts to aged care facilities was happening too slowly.
Some residents will not be fully vaccinated until June. This is unacceptable postcode health.
Wallace said communication with care home members could have been better.
The uncertainty around dates had been frustrating when it came to planning, especially around the flu shot, he said.
Now we have the dates confirmed providers can plan for that and those in regions where the Covid-19 rollout is slow, are going ahead with the flu shot ahead of Covid-19 [vaccine].
The variability between regions remains a concern. The reform of the health system provides some home that these inconsistencies will be addressed in the future.
We want to see things moving more quickly. Our care homes have been ready for some time and the vaccines are in the country, sitting in cold storage when they should be in peoples arms.
Medsafe and vaccine manufacturer Pfizer have approved the use of regular freezer temperatures to store doses for up to two weeks, making New Zealand’s vaccine rollout easier.
