There are calls for Maori to be at the front of the queue for inoculations against the CCP Virus.
The National Maori Pandemic group has said the protection of Maori will be at the centre of planning for the Covid-19 vaccine rollout.
Te Ropu Whakakaupapa Uruta has previously criticised the government for treating Maori as an after-thought in its Covid-19 response.
One of the group’s members, Rawiri Jansen, is part of the government’s Immunisation Implementation Advisory Group, and said that being involved in the planning stages has meant Maori are being considered a priority for vaccination.
“There have been times when we’ve been very critical of the response and influence that Maori have been able to have in terms of our pandemic response, so [we’re] looking to really influence that and get a better response by being involved earlier.”
“The priority from my point of view is to centre the immunisation implementation on protecting the Maori community and I think we’ve got that in the right place.”
Jansen said he expected some Maori under 65 would be included in the priority groups for vaccination.
“We’ve got evidence to show that Maori will be impacted by the Covid at a younger age so our programme must address that,” Jansen said.
“My understanding is that yes, it has been agreed that Maori will be centered in that.”
Another member of Te Ropu Whakakaupapa Uruta, Sue Crengle, said there was a strong case for Maori 50 years or older to be considered a priority for vaccination.
She also wanted there to be a specific level of Covid-19 vaccination coverage for Maori.
“Assuming that we rollout the vaccine quickly and effectively… what level of vaccination coverage is the government going to consider is satisfactory before they start doing things like opening up the borders, lowering/reducing the requirements for being in MIQ, in quarantine, when you come into the country?”
“We know that, for example, influenza vaccines for the over 65s, there are always inequities and lower coverage for Maori so I think there needs to be… Maori specific levels of coverage before we start to relax our requirements around MIQ, for example.”
Radio New Zealand
Hang on a minute. We’ve been told this tricky virus doesn’t distinguish between race or colour. Yet here they are proposing health outcomes based entirely on race.
The facts of the CCP virus so far suggest that a far more effective first group would be those who are older, have diabetes and heart disease and are male.
While the December study shows a hugely significant relationship between age and the risk of dying from Covid-19, there are other risk factors.
Pre-existing conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, sex (men appear more likely to suffer severe symptoms) and ethnicity have an impact.
Stuff
It seems that the Government and Maori groups are relying on “research” that apparently shows that risk of dying from the CCP Virus is at least 50% higher for Maori than New Zealanders from European backgrounds.
But what do the facts show, rather than the wonky hypothesis of researchers?
Well, that Maori actually have a very low risk of catching the Wu Flu while Asians and Europeans have a far greater propensity to catch it:
| Ethnicity* | Active (confirmed and probable) | Recovered | Deceased | Total cases since first case | Percentage of all cases |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maori | 2 | 188 | 5 | 195 | 8.6% |
| Pacific peoples | 1 | 182 | 1 | 184 | 8.1% |
| Asian | 22 | 385 | 0 | 407 | 18% |
| Middle Eastern, Latin American and African (MELAA) | 6 | 74 | 1 | 81 | 3.6% |
| European or Other | 44 | 1326 | 18 | 1388 | 61.2% |
| Unknown | 1 | 11 | 0 | 12 | 0.5% |
| Total | 76 | 2166 | 25 | 2267 | 100% |
We should have health outcomes based on need not race.
But since race has been brought up, surely Maori wouldn’t want to further colonialism by subjecting themselves to colonialist vaccines?
I wonder what Meng Foon, the bewildered Race Relations Commissioner, will have to say about putting Maori first, when he is on record saying:
Race Relations Commissioner Meng Foon said people’s fear about the virus “should never turn into racism or xenophobia”.
“My call to action for New Zealanders has always been to ‘be kind’,” he said.
“Since Covid-19, I am really glad that the Government has reiterated this message, but we also need Government and other leaders to explicitly say, ‘don’t be racist’.”
NZ Herald
The Government should listen to Meng Foon and address health issues on a basis of clinical need, not race.
