We're officially into winter now and so far COVID-19 cases are continuing to plateau. There were just under 6300 new infections reported on Saturday - a drop of around 500 from last Saturday.
Eleven people with the virus have died, bringing our total of publicly reported deaths to 1221. Currently, 369 people are battling the virus in hospital and eight are in ICU or a high dependency unit.
And as we enter the winter season, the race to protect against the flu begins with several pop-up vaccination events across Auckland today.
First up on the long weekend agenda - vaccinations.
"I'm getting the booster," one person said.
"I'm here to get my second dose," a second person said.
"To get my flu shot," a third said.
It was a family affair at a Glen Eden vaccination event today where both the flu and COVID shots were on offer.
"I got my second vaccine done," one girl said.
Mum Sue Lind made the most of it by bringing six of her whānau along.
"It's nice to get it all done in one hit," Lind said.
It all kicked off last night as a private vaccination event at the kura across the road.
But demand from the community was so high it opened to the wider public on Saturday.
"We just want to put a positive spin on it for all those who are willing and even those who aren't - they could come down here, it's a safe space to ask questions," event organiser Faye Peke said.
But at the heart of it - a by Māori, for Māori approach.
"We decided to train as many as we could to administer the vaccine and do testing so that we could be the face for a lot of our kids who were somewhat fearful, and sort of remove that fear," Peke said.
"It just makes everyone feel safer to know that you're being dotted by people you know," Teaorangi Morini said.
And there was more on offer than just a vaccine, with numerous spot prizes, free kai and vouchers up for grabs.
"You get bombarded with good vibes - you get hangi, you get steamed pudding," Peke said.
It was one of several pop-up flu and COVID vaccination events in Auckland today.
One in Wiri involved nine church communities coming together to celebrate Samoan Language Week.
"We get to catch a lot of people. A lot of people were commenting 'oh, this is awesome!' because otherwise during a busy week, they wouldn't have the chance to come in," site lead Jonathan Naseri said.
Dr Bryan Betty said it's community events like these that help boost those crucial vaccination rates.
"The flu is going to be very bad this year, we're already getting reports that flu is around the country and really hitting people hard. It's so, so important to get the flu vaccination," Dr Betty said.
"It was nice and easy so yeah, I'd really encourage people to come down here," one person said.
A thumbs up for protecting our whānau and the perks that come along with it.
