The Director-General of Health is "very pleased" by new research on New Zealand's attitude to the COVID-19 vaccine, which shows the number of Kiwis keen to get the jab is on the rise - particularly among Māori and Pasifika.
Results of the Ministry of Health's latest survey of online respondents in late May show the number of New Zealanders willing to get immunised against coronavirus is higher than ever.
Overall potential uptake - including those already vaccinated and those who are likely to get a vaccine - has increased to 80 percent nationwide, up from 77 percent in April and 69 percent in March.
More than 3.26 million of the estimated 4.08 million New Zealanders aged 16-plus say they are likely to get vaccinated or have already been vaccinated. Just 13 percent of people surveyed said they were unlikely to get the vaccine and of those, only 7 percent say they will "definitely not" get one.
Dr Ashley Bloomfield says the results are "very encouraging".
"There's a growing acceptance of and willingness to take the vaccine, particularly as the numbers get higher. I think we will see the number of people who genuinely don't want to have it decline," he told a news conference on Wednesday.
"There remains a core group who at the moment say they're unlikely to get vaccinated. About 8 percent of people say they remain unsure.
"Our challenge - and one we're more than happy to take up - is to continue to work with those groups to ensure we answer their questions and make sure they have all the information they need to decide what's right for them - and I hope they take up that opportunity to be vaccinated."
One of the major encouragements for the Ministry of Health is the boost in willingness among Māori and Pasifika to get immunised - two communities at higher risk of COVID-19.
Māori potential uptake - including those already vaccinated and those who are likely to get a vaccine - is now at 75 percent, up from 71 percent in April. Among Pasifika communities, potential uptake was steady at 78 percent, similar to 79 percent in April 2021 but up from 59 percent in March 2021.
"We've seen it in our outbreak last August that those are communities that were more heavily impacted, so it's fantastic to see that high and increasing level of willingness."
University of Auckland vaccinologist Helen Petousis-Harris told Newshub back in March that as more people are safely vaccinated, fear over their effects are likely to ease.
"I don't think we necessarily need to be too concerned. We know there are a lot of people adopting a wait and see approach, they're a little bit hesitant, they're unsure...
"I want to start reassuring people, we have seen a lot of data and so far it is looking really good."
