Far more women than men have gotten the COVID-19 vaccine in New Zealand, Ministry of Health figures show.
As of May 25, a total of 230,667 women have had their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine compared to just 139,929 men. And 121,514 women have had both doses of the vaccine compared to just 69,351 men.
So why are men getting vaccinated at such a slower rate?
Public health experts have suggested various reasons for the gap. Firstly women make up the majority of the workforces that have been prioritised.
Ministry of Health group manager of COVID-19 vaccine operations Astrid Koornneef told Newshub women tend to dominate the frontline workforce.
"There could be various reasons why, to date, more women may be vaccinated than men, such as the gender make up of border, managed isolation and quarantine, and healthcare workers who have been vaccinated in line with the sequencing framework.
"The COVID-19 vaccination programme is New Zealand’s largest-ever vaccine rollout and continues to scale up, since vaccinations of frontline border workers began in February. We are currently running ahead of target, with more than 600,000 doses administered (as of 28 May)."
The vaccine rollout has been split into four groups with border workers and vulnerable people first in line.
Group one is made up of the 50,000 border workers, their household contacts and the people they live with. This group started receiving their vaccines in February.
Group two includes 480,000 frontline workers and people living in high-risk settings, beginning with 57,000 healthcare workers on community frontlines, and then moving through to healthcare workers protecting the most vulnerable and some priority populations. Vaccinations for this group started in March.
Group three is the priority population - approximately 1.7 million people who are at higher risk if they catch COVID-19. Vaccinations for this group started in May.
Group four is the remainder of the population. They can expect their vaccines from the end of July.
New Zealand isn't the only country with more women than men vaccinated, several states in the US are in the same position.
Along with the healthcare and education workforces being majority women, US health officials have suggested age could be another factor. Most countries, including New Zealand, have prioritised vaccines for the elderly, a group which tends to have more women because they live longer than men.
New Zealand data shows 50-59-year-olds have had the most vaccines so far with 67,508 receiving their first jab and 41,080 their second.
This is followed by 60 to 69 with 65,552 having their first dose and 30,959 their second. Ten to 19-year-olds have had the least with 6076 having their first dose and 3217 their second.
European / other people have had the most vaccines by ethnicity in New Zealand so far with 242,158 having their first dose and 123,465 their second.
This is followed by Asian with 63,903 people receiving their first jab and 36,669 their second. Māori is third with 36,387 receiving their first dose and 17,052 their second. Pacific is the fourth with 24,876 having their first vaccination and 11,823 their second.
