A new online tool telling you when you're in line to get the COVID-19 vaccine has been unveiled.
The tool, now available on the Unite Against COVID-19 website, is a short questionnaire that asks you about your health, location, occupation and life situation.
Based on your answers, you'll be told which of the four vaccination groups you're in and when you can expect to get the coronavirus vaccine.
"As we move through the rollout of the vaccination programme, we want people to be as informed as soon as possible about when they can expect to be vaccinated," says Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield.
"This tool is designed to make that as easy as possible."
COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins unveiled the Government's vaccine rollout plan earlier this month. It categories Kiwis into four groups, which determine roughly when they will receive a jab.
The first to be immunised is our 50,000-strong border and managed isolation and quarantine (MIQ) workforce, as well as their household contacts. This programme began in February and the Government expects the vast bulk of these jabs will be completed this month.
Approximately 480,000 frontline workers and people living in high-risk settings are next, beginning with 57,000 healthcare workers on community frontlines getting vaccinated before other health workers who protect our most vulnerable.
Those living in the Counties Manukau District Health Board (DHB) area - located in south Auckland - who are aged 65 and over or have an underlying health condition are also included in this group. This started in February and will continue through May.
The third group includes about 1.7 million people from "priority populations" who are at "higher risk if they catch COVID-19". Vaccination of this group is scheduled to begin in May.
The last group is the remainder of the population, who will be vaccinated from July.
Dr Bloomfield says the online tool provides more information about who is in each group.
"If you're a healthcare worker or work in a long-term residential environment, for example, it will provide an indication when you can expect to get vaccinated," he explained.
"You don't need to provide any information that could be used to identify you, and the information you do provide isn't saved once you leave the web page."
The tool is available on mobile, desktop and tablet, and is in the process of being translated into 24 languages.
Click here to use the tool.
