5 ways you can help New Zealand get vaccinated

More than 3.5 million Kiwis have received a vaccine against COVID-19 – and if you’re one of them, thank you for doing your bit. But there’s still more work to do, and there’s no time to waste.

Here are five ways you can help New Zealand get vaccinated.

Talk to your friends and whānau

Some people might be a little nervous about vaccination or want a bit more information before getting their shot.

It’s really important to have open conversations about vaccination to ensure everyone has the information they need to make their choice.

If you’re vaccinated, you can help your friends and family make an informed decision by sharing your own vaccination experience, advising them to talk to a trusted health professional, or pointing them to accurate and reliable information online. A good place to start is the Q+A section at covid19.govt.nz.

Help someone make a booking

If you’ve already gone through the booking process, you’re well-placed to help someone else sort out an appointment.

You could give your mate a hand with the Book My Vaccine online portal, or remind a colleague they can call the COVID Vaccination Healthline on 0800 28 29 26 to make an appointment for the whole whānau.

Better yet, some vaccination centres don’t require a booking; anyone can walk in or drive through to get vaccinated. If you know someone who’s having trouble making their appointment, you might like to share this list of centres that don’t require a booking.

Drive someone to their appointment

If you’ve got wheels, why not offer to help someone who doesn’t? Offering a lift to the nearest vaccination centre could make all the difference for someone who hasn’t yet had their vaccine.

If the alert level of your area means you can’t do the above, you can still make a friend’s vaccination easier by making sure they’ve used the handy tools on Healthpoint and Karawhiua to figure out where their closest vaccination centre is, to get the shortest journey possible.

Share accurate information

There’s some misleading information out there about the COVID-19 vaccine, and it can be hard to tell fact from fiction.

We can all play a part to make sure misinformation doesn’t spread. If you see something online that isn’t true, you can help stamp it out. For advice on identifying and reporting problematic content, check out some tips here.

Whether you have five followers or 500, you can help to spread the word about the importance of getting vaccinated. Telling your own story about vaccination is a good place to start, but you can also think about sharing accurate, impartial information from Unite against COVID-19 or the Ministry of Health.

Get your immunity

If you haven’t already, join the 85% of eligible Kiwis who’ve had a shot, and book your vaccination today. There are countless reasons why we’re choosing the protection of the vaccine. The quicker we achieve high vaccination rates, the safer everyone will be and the better our chances of enjoying a great summer.

It’s super easy to make a booking: you can visit bookmyvaccine.nz or call Healthline on 0800 28 29 26. If you have a fear of needles, no sweat – there are phone counsellors available on that line to help you out.

If you’ve already had a dose and at least three weeks have since passed, you can bring forward your second shot. Try a walk-in or drive-through centre without a booking, or change your appointment online. Just remember to cancel your original appointment so someone else can take that spot.

Every extra person who gets vaccinated is another layer of protection for us all. By working together and supporting our friends and family who need a little extra help to take that next step, we can make sure we’re all able to do more of what we love and protect those who can’t be vaccinated, like children under 12.

For more information about COVID-19 and vaccinations, visit the Unite Against COVID-19 website.