Status Of COVID-19 Vaccination In New Zealand: Uptake Rates By District And Demographics

The COVID vaccine efforts in NZ has been ramping up. As of 7 October 2021, the country has a cumulative total of 3,400,750 vaccinated Kiwis or 81% of the population. 53% or 2,220,329 are fully vaccinated.

Additionally, another 70,955 have already secured their vaccination booking.

With NZ’s population at 4,209,057, the Ministry of Health is on the right track when it comes to COVID-19 vaccination. Note that the country can’t be fully 100% vaccinated, at least with the current vaccine tech, as some age groups are still not eligible for a dose.

Here’s a further breakdown of vaccination data in New Zealand.

Vaccination by ethnicity

For New Zealanders with mixed ethnicity, you’ll be categorised in the order of priority: Māori, Pacific Peoples, Asian, and European/Other. For example, if you have mixed ethnicity as Māori and Asian, you’ll be classified as Māori if you identify as Māori.

The ethnicity with the highest uptake per a thousand people is Asian, European, Pacific peoples, and Māori. Willingness to take the vaccine is one aspect of this data. However, location plays a bigger role in this vaccination data by ethnicity.

Vaccination by territorial authorities

Rural areas have been lagging when it comes to vaccine rollout. Some of these areas can be ancestral lands and estates, where most Māori live. While it’s only wise to prioritise cities where chances of transmission are higher, rural areas shouldn’t be far behind. 

The urban and rural divide is much more evident as Murupara in the Bay of Plenty only recorded 32.6% of the population getting the first dose while 16.1% were fully vaccinated.

While this is sizable for a population of 1,389, this doesn’t compare to other more populated parts of the country where more than 95% have been vaccinated.

Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said the suburb-by-suburb data would encourage everyone to get these numbers up in their own area. He hopes that Kiwis would use this data to help hard-to-reach communities get vaccinated.

Vaccination by group

When it comes to vaccination by priority groups, it’s no surprise that all groups have the highest number of vaccinated New Zealanders. They were priorities because they’re most susceptible to COVID-19. Nonetheless, all priority groups have high vaccination rates.

As a refresher, priority groups can be categorised into:

• Group 1: Border and isolation facility workers and the people they live with
• Group 2: Frontline and essential workers, including those in petrol stations
• Group 3: People at high risk of getting COVID-19 like senior citizens
• Group 4:  People aged 40+

Vaccination by age

Since the Ministry of Health approved the vaccination of 12-15-year-olds last month, they’ve been booking and getting their vaccines immediately. Nonetheless, Kiwis 65 years old and over have the highest percentage of fully vaccinated individuals, equalling 846 out of 1,000 people.

Secure your vaccination booking now

If you still haven’t booked your vaccination, do it now! This reduces the possibility of getting severe COVID-19 cases and prevents community transmission altogether. Book your vaccination here. It’s free for everyone!

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