All of us - All in!!

Tuesday, 10 August 2021

Hi team! - just want to give a massive shout out to our community - amazing effort thus far in our vaccination drive - some statistics - as of last week 80% of those 65 years plus, 77% 60 years plus and 63% of 50 years plus have been vaccinated in the Southern DHB region! - This is a really good result so far - our clinic has had a steady flow of patients coming through, there’s still plenty of slots available over the week, so don’t hesitate to book in.

We are very grateful to have this opportunity to help our community out.  I want our people to know that by allowing Pharmacy the opportunity to vaccinate its community, the SDHB has cleared the path for the most accessible group of health professionals to help it's community.  This will truly make a difference in the vaccination rate - we are able to engage directly with everyone coming in store. This is super important as soon we will have vaccinated the ‘low-hanging fruit’, that is,  the people that will have wanted the vaccine anyway, the next step of the vaccination drive is to make sure we have open and clear communication to those that are less motivated.

Who better then, than getting the Health Professional you see most often to have a chat about it?  Pharmacists, particularly those that are serving their suburban areas, have built a  long standing relationship with its community and its a relationship built on trust.  

So let’s keep the conversation going! -   it's so important that we all are actively involved in this.  This is the biggest, most challenging health program in our lifetimes, so keep talking to our friends, our neighbours and our family.  Herd immunity* can be achieved in NZ we can do it - all in - all of us!

Andrew and the team

*Herd immunity occurs when a large portion of a community (the herd) becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. As a result, the whole community becomes protected — not just those who are immune.