Ā mātou kōrero

Getting vaccinated – and getting tested when you have symptoms – is a small price to pay for the wellness of your wider whānau

I spend my life thinking of ways that I can provide my kids with the best future possible and enable them to walk forward with confidence.

I also talked about it with my whānau, and I listened and heard about their experiences of getting the jab and why they chose to do it. And I came back with my decision. I’ve been vaccinated and I am proud of it.

When the vaccine first came out, I wasn’t automatically sure that I was going to get it. Like everyone else, I was apprehensive about the speed of the development and roll out.

There was never any doubt in my mind about getting the vaccine. Having managed the Ngāti Rārua health services for twenty years until my retirement last year, I know how important it is for us to frontfoot this for our Māori community.