Is the 90 Percent Vaccination Target for DHBs Equitable? w/ Dr Rhys Jones: October 26, 2021

Last Friday the government announced it’s Covid-19 Protection Framework. Aotearoa will move to the new framework when 90 percent of the eligible population is fully vaccinated in each DHB region. However, critics have said that the 90 percent vaccination target for DHBs is unfair for Māori and Pacific communities. This is because Māori and Pacific vaccination rates across the country are still significantly lower than non-Māori and non-Pacific.

News and Editorial Director Jemima Huston speaks to Dr Rhys Jones, a public health physician and senior lecturer in Māori health at the University of Auckland about this critique. They discuss Dr Jones' position on the government’s new traffic light system, what Māori and Pacific vaccination rates are looking like and whether the 90 percent threshold is equitable.