One of New Zealand's most remote and isolated communities has now reached 90 percent of its population over 12 getting at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Gloriavale accounts for at least a third of those aged 12 or older in the Lake Brunner area. Photo: RNZ / Tim Brown
Lake Brunner, on the West Coast, is home to Gloriavale Christian Community and was once one of the least vaccinated areas.
When data on the most and least vaccinated areas of the country came out in late November, Lake Brunner was the worst in the South Island, with only half of its about 600 residents fully vaccinated.
Nationally, only Murupara was worse.
Gloriavale accounts for at least a third of those aged 12 or older in Lake Brunner area.
The secretive and reclusive Gloriavale Christian Community had long eschewed all vaccinations.
Gloriavale Leavers' Support Trust manager Liz Gregory said that world view accounted for the low Covid-19 vaccine uptake in the community.
"For 50 years, they've been taught very strongly that it was wrong to get vaccinated, and this has permeated through the community and its belief system, and now it's become like a religious belief.
"So when the pandemic came along and vaccines were coming out and there was definitely a sentiment that it was wrong. If people were going to get them, they were putting their soul at risk of eternal damnation and there was a bit of fear around the vaccine as well."
It is believed vaccine mandates for the education and health sectors prompted a changed of heart on getting the jab in Gloriavale. Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
But when the government introduced vaccine mandates for the education and health sectors, it threatened to close Gloriavale's schools and cost the community the funding which went along with them.
That prompted a change of heart in the community, Gregory said.
"They are a business structure with a religious veneer," she said
"The business actually means a lot to them. Finance means a lot to them and they've got four pre-schools and they operate a school, and they're funded by the government and they were going to risk losing what we've found out is millions of dollars if they had to close down their preschools because their teachers didn't get vaccinated."
It did not mean the decision did not come with a lot of apprehension for the community. It had caused a lot of dissension and discussion, Gregory said.
But closing the schools also would have sent ripples throughout the community and its way of life.
"Obviously, the second factor of a group like Gloriavale is the revolve around their need for finance, so they've got a structure set up - their work structure - it's an economic unit, it's got a life of its own but it requires everyone to work," Gregory said.
"So the mums in Gloriavale send their children to preschool and ... school, and mums work and they work very hard. So it was never going to be likely that Gloriavale was going to say 'let's not get the vaccine and let's close down our preschools and school' because all of a sudden the whole way they operate is being affected - who's going to do the work?"
The community's leaders communicated the change in policy - although it caused disturbances even in the leadership of the community - and rolled up their own sleeves to front foot the issue, Gregory said.
The Lake Brunner area also featured the odd small settlement and plenty of farms - the exact kind of remote and rural locale that vaccinators had struggled to reach throughout the country during the rollout.
But the mandate had worked and the area was now moving up the vaccination tables with 80 percent of those over 12 having had two doses, and 91 percent at least one.
West Coast District Health Board Covid-19 says mandates have helped boost vaccination rates in remote areas throughout the region. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
West Coast District Health Board Covid-19 vaccine programme manager Helen Gillespie said the mandates had helped boost vaccination rates in remote areas throughout the coast.
"There's a multitude of reasons why those things have changed and not least of which is the mandate," she said.
"When we've gone to communities our clinical staff offer conversation. So a person may present but we may not vaccinate them on that day. They may have come just to ask questions of the clinical team... The Lake Brunner area is no different to any other outreach location, so we've been providing opportunities for people to ask questions and giving people time to make their decision."
As a result some were still coming forward now to get a first dose, she said.
RNZ attempted to contact Gloriavale and its leader, Howard Temple, but they had no interest in taking part.
Whatever had led to the change in vaccination stance, there was no doubt that a remote community with limited access to healthcare, like Gloriavale, would benefit from the preventive protection of vaccination.
University of Auckland epidemiologist Rod Jackson said that was why he had been so supportive of mandates.
"Simply because internationally they've been demonstrated to be very effective and what you've just described about Gloriavale is the perfect example of how they can work," he said.
However, he stressed there was no one-size-fits-all way to vaccinate-hesitant communities, and while mandates were a useful tool, they were not a silver bullet.
Gloriavale was a unique case and evidence showed in most marginalised communities, education and getting the support of community leaders was the real key to overcoming vaccine hesitancy, professor Jackson said.