Vaccinations in Auckland this weekend have showed no sign of slowing down with over 200 doses given in three hours.
Cars queue up at the vaccination event at the Tokaikolo ‘Ia Kalaisi church in Māngere Bridge. Photo: PeninaJoy
Dr Anthony Jordan was on the job on Sunday morning and said one-third of those given were first doses.
He said this weekend is the last chance to be fully vaccinated by Christmas, if you have not had your first dose.
"There has been an increase, ever since Friday I've noticed more numbers coming through, compared to maybe the last week."
"I think that message of getting vaccinated before Christmas, to be fully vaccinated before Christmas, is possibly something people are taking on board."
Dr Jordan said people can get vaccinated this week which leaves three weeks until Christmas and between doses.
There have been multiple vaccination drives this weekend as well.
District Health Boards are also working to contact people who will be eligible for their Covid-19 booster vaccinations from tomorrow.
The Ministry of Health said the priority is still getting people fully vaccinated - however, some healthcare and border workers and kaumātua have been vaccinated for six months and will need a booster.
More than 450,000 people will be eligible for a booster shot by the end of the year.
More than 32,000 people have made bookings for booster shots already, the ministry said today.
The Ministry of Health also said that its vaccine pass call-centre is still receiving a higher-than-normal number of calls.
A ministry spokesperson said the system was upgraded during the week and is now performing well, despite the volume of calls.
The ministry announced yesterday vaccine passes would be available through pharmacies to help with access and demand.
The spokesperson said that as of today, more than 2.26 million requests for a pass have been processed.
Meanwhile, there were another 144 cases of Covid-19 revealed in the community today, and one more death.
Globally, countries continued to also restrict travel from Africa until more is known about the Omicron variant which has emerged there.
The Ministry of Health has said it is monitoring studies of that variant.
