A successful online information session on the COVID-19 vaccine rollout was held by the Ministry for Ethnic Communities on 25 August. The session was part of the Ministry's plan to host regional information forums on COVID-19 vaccination for ethnic communities and was attended by over 100 people via Zoom.
A range of ethnic leaders, community organisations, service providers, and health officials was represented at the forum, which provided an opportunity for health professionals to talk about the vaccination roll-out and answer questions from ethnic community members. Speakers on the call included Raaj Govinda from the Ministry of Health; Sally Schnauer from the Immunisation Advisory Centre (IMAC) and Dr Serah Hartnall from the Auckland DHB.
Some key issues raised in the forum included: family and group bookings for the vaccination; demand for community vaccination centres; interpreting services at vaccination centres; vaccination for 12 to 15-year-olds and ethnicity data collection on the vaccination programme.
A range of ethnic leaders, community organisations, service providers, and health officials was represented at the forum
Based on the feedback we received, the forum was very well received by the communities, thanks to the generous allocation of time for Q&A. The Ministry will liaise with DHBs to follow up on some of the requests made in the forum for initiatives such as group and faith centred vaccination centres.