Media release

From: New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA)

Key Points

·         The equitable delivery of COVID-19 vaccines is key to an elimination strategy. However, a large proportion of the population could face geographic barriers to receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.

·         If current health services and facilities are used without well-designed and supported outreach services, then access to vaccination is likely to inequitable, with Māori, older communities and people living in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation facing additional geographic barriers to access.

·         a geospatial approach to the planning of vaccination delivery could help to identify and avoid an inequitable vaccine rollout.

·         a social justice approach to achieving vaccine equity within Aotearoa and protecting the health of vulnerable populations needs to be prioritised.

·         if equitable vaccine delivery can be achieved, then the approaches that facilitated it should be used to ensure that all health services are delivered equitably. "

Summary

We examined the equity implications of the geographic distribution of COVID-19 vaccine delivery locations in Aotearoa New Zealand under five potential scenarios. We mapped the distribution of priority populations, who are at the highest risk of infection and COVID-19 severity or death, and then calculated travel times to all potential vaccination facilities including: stadium mega-clinics; Community Based Assessment Centres; GP clinics; community pharmacies; and schools. Our results indicate that most potential scenarios resulted in travel-time barriers for a substantial proportion of the population, and that these barriers disproportionately burden Māori, older communities and people living in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation.