News and Notices

COVID-19 vaccination update


As at 14 July, 63,875 doses of the free Pfizer BioNTech vaccine have been administered in the Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough region since vaccination started on 1 March 2021. 27,202 of these are second doses.

This puts Nelson Marlborough Health and our primary care and Māori health partners ahead of target.  We are currently achieving 162% of our target as reported on the Ministry of Health website. 

We are currently offering vaccination to people in Groups 1, 2 and 3. We have completed vaccination clinics for all rest homes in Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough and have started to vaccinate people in their homes if they are not able to leave their house easily.

Vaccination for people in Groups 1, 2 and 3 will continue until late July when we will start to offer it to people in Group 4. We are currently providing approximately 4,500 vaccines a week and plan to gradually increase this to the point we are offering approximately 12,500 a week from late August onwards.

What to do if you are in Group 3

If you are in Group 3 you will be contacted by a booking team member. Most invitations are being made by sending text messages to the phone number people have registered with their GP. If we don’t hear back from you after sending a text message, or if we know you don’t have a cellphone, we would try a landline phone, email or – if all else fails – letter. 

  • if you don’t have a GP you can register your contact details with Healthline on 0800 282 926
  • as long as your contact details are up to date you do not need to do anything. We'll let you know when it's your turn.

The large size of Group 3 means that not everyone in Group 3 will be offered the vaccine at the same time, or at the same time as people you know. We ask people to be patient.

What to do if you are in Group 4

From 28 July people in Group 4 will be invited to book directly via the national online booking system ‘Book My Vaccine’ or a by calling a national 0800 number. 

The Group 4 roll-out is phased by age bands, starting with those who are over 60 years old, but everyone in Group 4 can register their details with ‘Book My Vaccine’ from 28 July. Once bookings are open for your age group you will be contacted to let you know it’s your turn to book. People in Groups 1, 2 and 3 can also use the national booking system also if they still haven’t had their vaccine by then.

There will be advertising at both a national and local level to help make these national booking system contact details known. Locally, we will still retain our booking centre teams to support the national systems. We will also continue to contact people directly using contact details held by their GP – by text messaging, phone calls to landlines, email and – if all else fails – letters.

For more information about the vaccine, go to the main information page on this website.

What about the flu vaccine?

The 2021 flu vaccine is also currently available for free from your GP, medical centre nurse, Māori health provider and participating pharmacies for:

  • people aged 65+ 
  • pregnant women (any stage of pregnancy)
  • children aged 4 years or under who have been hospitalised for respiratory illness or have a history of significant respiratory illness
  • people under 65 years with any of the medical conditions listed on this webpage

For further information go to the Health Navigator website, talk to your GP or phone 0800 IMMUNE (0800 466 863)

The Ministry of Health recommends a two-week gap between getting your flu vaccine and your of COVID-19 vaccine. 

Should I get my flu shot first or my COVID-19 vaccine? 

Get your COVID-19 vaccine first if you already have an appointment booked, otherwise get your flu shot first. Leave a gap of two weeks between the COVID-19 vaccine and flu vaccine.

 

Getting the right information matters

Be aware of incorrect information on social media and websites. Disinformation is also circulating in the form of pamphlets; if it's not from Unite Against COVID-19, the Ministry of Health or Te Puni Kokiri it might not be trustworthy.

You can get accurate, evidence-based information from: