The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been approved for use in New Zealand and border workers and their families, as well as frontline staff, will get it first.
It's expected to arrive before the end of March and be in arms within two-to-three weeks after that. The elderly and vulnerable will be next, with everyone else having to wait until the second half of the year
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern made the announcement in Ruapekapeka on Wednesday as part of her trip to Northland for Waitangi celebrations.
Ardern said she was "very, very pleased to announce that the next stage in our vaccine programme has now occurred".
Vaccinating our border staff is priority number one - and Ardern gets in line with the rest of us.
"I will absolutely be vaccinated, my family members will be vaccinated, but right now, I'm not the first order of priority," she said.
Now it's just a matter of actually getting our hands on it - that the jab isn't just hollow jibber jabber.
"We've been a bit cautious about putting in precise dates, because we've seen what's happening globally, there has been changes from pharmaceutical companies' distribution," Ardern said.
To keep more for itself Europe is blocking exports of vaccines made there, including Pfizer's - the only one we've approved.
"We've been advised that's unlikely to have any effect on New Zealand's receipt of vaccines," Ardern said.
The other major vaccine roadblock is convincing people to take it
Our first case of community transmission in months came to Northland where physical roadblocks were set up to help protect vulnerable Māori communities with greater health risks, like Moerewa, where some locals were keen on getting the jab.
"Yeah, if I know more research about it yeah I'll get it," one person told Newshub.
"It will be a good thing to do," said another.
But not everyone in Moerewa is as concerned about the risk of COVID-19.
"What do I want it for?" one person asked.
"My immune system is too good," another said.
One local flat out said they will "probably not" get the vaccine.
"There's actually a relatively small number of New Zealanders who you would describe as anti-vaccinations, then there's the next group who are just a bit hesitant, they need information and they need confidence - today I want to give them that confidence," Ardern said.
National says it's Government hesitancy that's delayed the rollout of vaccines.
"Finding out that we're not even in sight of the queue is simply not good enough, so they need to front up," said National leader Judith Collins.
There's a moral conundrum too - New Zealand isn't grappling with the overwhelming coronavirus death toll being experienced in other countries.
Our reality is worlds apart from the rest of the world.
