New Zealand to scale up COVID vaccination amid spike in cases due to Delta variant

Amid a spike in the COVID cases owing to the delta variant in New Zealand, the government has decided to scale up the rollout of vaccination in the country. New Zealand has witnessed a considerable rise in the number of cases despite the seven-day snap lockdown in place since August 18. On Wednesday, New Zealand recorded 62 new delta variant cases taking the total infections to 210.

'Too soon to throw in the towel': Chris Hipkins

Talking about the hurry in COVID vaccine roll-out, Minister Chris Hipkins said, "You'll see changes in the medium term and in the way we manage the border. We do want to get to the point where lockdowns are not the answer to potential outbreaks in the community. But we are not there yet." Hipkins also expressed his support for the highly-praised "elimination strategy" undertaken by the New Zealand government. "It's too soon to throw in the towel. We've come this far- it would an absolute waste for us to give up on this now," he added during his conference.

New Zealand's vaccine roll-out plan

With an aim to ensure free and fair access to vaccination, New Zealand has planned to administer COVID jabs to all citizens. The citizens have been divided into four main groups. Group 1 is made of the border and managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) workers and their households. Group 2 comprises frontline and healthcare workers, vulnerable individuals, and people of 65 years and above living in the Manukau DHB district. People at higher risk of COVID-19, such as older adults, disabled and pregnant individuals are compiled in Group 3. Lastly, the general population is covered in Group 4.

All groups (1 to 4) are currently being vaccinated. The vaccine rollout for Group 4 is in age bands:

• people aged 60 years and over from 28 July
• people aged 55 years and over from 6 August
• people aged 50 and over from 13 August
• people aged 40 and over from 18 August
• people aged 30 and over from 25 August
• people aged 12 and over from 1 September.

New Zealand fared pretty well during the first and second waves of the pandemic with only 26 COVID-related deaths in the country. For the last six months, the country also curbed community spread bringing down the novel virus infections to a negligible count. However, since the first delta variant case was reported in the country on August 16, the cases have continued to escalate. As per the latest updates, NZ has over 2800 confirmed cases, most of which are reported from Auckland and 12 from the capital city Wellington.

(Image: AP/representative)