New Zealand's success against Covid-19 might make people feel they don't need a vaccination, so it's important to stress the benefits, an immunisation expert says.
A woman in the United States receives a Covid-19 vaccination. Photo: 2021 Getty Images
Vaccination for every New Zealander has moved closer to reality with the government completing a bulk purchase of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
An additional 8.5 million doses will arrive in the second half of the year - enough for five million people to get the two jabs needed.
Immunisation Advisory Centre medical advisor Professor Peter McIntyre said there was a concern people might not feel they need to bother.
"One of the downsides of New Zealand being in a situation where there is no coronavirus is that people aren't seeing that kind of imminent threat in the same way you'd be seeing it if you were in England or if you were in the US," he told Morning Report.
"But really the message is how lucky are we, getting a fantastic vaccine, getting it for free, and being able to all have it by the end of the year."
How the Pfizer vaccine works Photo: Source: Pfizer/BioNTech/BBC
"We need to emphasise how beneficial it's going to be" - Immunisation Advisory Centre medical advisor Professor Peter McIntyre
The hope was that high vaccination rates will turn the threat of Covid-19 into something more like, or less than, the 'flu, he said.
"We really struggle with 'flu vaccines to get them working as well as we like and here we've got these new vaccines against Covid that even in our oldest and most frail people seem to be working far, far better than we're used to seeing with 'flu vaccines."
He said young adults were typically hard to motivate to get a vaccine - but having immunisation as a requirement for travel could be a "big incentive".
Health experts are urging New Zealanders to take advantage of the vaccination rollout, but reminding that it takes a while for the vaccine to take effect - as shown by an Air New Zealand crew member who tested positive for Covid-19 days after receiving the first of two jabs.
McIntyre said it would not be unreasonable to allow a few elite sports people to get a vaccine early so they could compete overseas, as it would involve only a small number and there was enthusiasm in New Zealand.