More than 25% of Taranaki people now fully protected against COVID-19

Another 1,800 people will join the more than 25% of those living in Taranaki who are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19 this Friday and Saturday.

Rachel Court, Taranaki COVID-19 Vaccination Programme operations lead, said “It is fantastic to see the number of Taranaki people getting the best protection against this virus, by receiving both doses of the vaccine, growing on a daily basis.

“And the momentum we achieved during the Alert Level 4 lockdown is set to continue with more partner-providers joining the programme, more pop-up clinics planned and the potential for more large vaccination events being explored.

“More than 80,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have now been administered to people living in Taranaki, and that number is increasing rapidly each week.”

Rachel reminded those that have already received one dose that, while this does give you some protection against the virus, it is by having both doses that you get full benefit of the vaccination.

“Studies have shown that around 95% of people who received both doses of the vaccine were protected against getting seriously ill.

“This means that even if you do contract the virus, including the Delta variant, you will experience no symptoms, or much fewer, milder, symptoms and will recover much faster.”

The two-dose approach works by ‘priming’ a person’s immune system with the first dose, and then boosting the number of antibodies produced by the body’s immune response with the second dose to give more effective protection over a longer period of time.

The vaccine not only helps protect an individual from getting seriously ill, but also reduces the likelihood of transmitting the COVID-19 virus should a person contract it.

Those who are unsure of when their second appointment is due can check online at BookMyVaccine.nz using their contact number or email address and booking reference, or call 0800 28 29 26 (8am-8pom, 7 days) for help.