A male teenager is sentenced for three year’s imprisonment after causing death by dangerous driving in a hit-and-run incident in ‘Eua.
The prisoner’s final 18 months of his sentence had been conditionally suspended for a period of two years.
Photo/Kaniva Tonga News
Henry ‘Esitonia Lakalaka, 21, died in the crash on a road in Pangai on November 11, 2020.
Semisi Mala’efo’ou of ‘Ohonua pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death.
At around 1pm Mala’efo’ou started drinking alcohol with others who were preparing food.
When they had finished the alcohol, the prisoner began driving the others to Ha’atu’a in his mother’s vehicle.
Once they turned onto the main road from ‘Ohonua to Ha’atu’a, Mala’efo’ou drove the vehicle at speeds of 80 to 90 kilometres per hour and did not slow down when they approached the village of Pangai which is a 50 kilometre per hour zone.
At that time, Lakalaka from Angahā and ‘Akapei Kefu were walking along the roadside in the same direction the vehicle was heading.
At a turn before the Free Church of Tonga compound past the Pangai Community Police post, the Defendant’s vehicle, which was still speeding, struck Lakalaka from behind and propelled him over 10 metres where he landed on the fence surrounding the church compound.
‘Akapei rushed to Henry, who was unconscious, and his head and face were covered with blood.
The Defendant did not stop at the scene. He continued driving to Ha’atu’a where he dropped off the others.
‘Akapei and another rushed Lakalaka to Niu’eiki Hospital where he died later that evening. Dr Penitani confirmed the cause of death as severe head injury secondary to blunt force impact.
Mala’efo’ou was later arrested. He cooperated with Police and, when interviewed, admitted to the offending.
The Lord Chief Justice Whitten KC convicted Mala’efo’ou of dangerous driving causing death and sentenced him to three years’ imprisonment.
“The final 18 months of the sentence are to be suspended for a period of 2 years on condition that during the said period of suspension, the Defendant is to:
(a) not commit any offence punishable by imprisonment;
(b) be placed on probation;
(c) report to the probation office within 48 hours of his release from prison and thereafter, as required by his probation officer;”
Mr Whitten also said: “I direct that to the greatest extent possible, the Defendant be kept separate from the adult inmate population within the prison and that he receive such counselling and pastoral care from the Prison Chaplain, Rev. Semisi Kava, as may be available and required”.
The prisoner is disqualified from holding or applying for a driver’s licence for a period of 3 years from the date of his release from prison.
A Tongan woman in Euless, US, has been sent to jail for embezzling her Italian employer out of millions of dollars.
Vika Latai Moa worked remotely as an operations manager for Savino Del Bene USA, Inc. (Savino USA), an overseas trucking logistics operation out of Grapevine between June 2016 and October 2019.
Savino USA, headquartered in New Jersey, is the American subsidiary of Savino Del Bene S.p.A., a global logistics and freight forwarding company based in Florence, Italy. Among other things, Savino USA provides transportation services to its customers in the United States by subcontracting local deliveries to third-party trucking companies.
Working remotely, prosecutors say Moa was pretty much on her own as a bookkeeper for the company, and that was fertile ground for mischief.
Court records show that Moa used fake invoices to overbill the company who then paid more than $2.6 million into a bank account that she had access to.
She pleaded guilty to embezzlement charges last year and was sentenced to 4 years in prison on Friday. As part of the plea agreement, she also agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $2,623,888.44.
More and more people are applying to release their KiwiSaver funds as the cost of living and the aftermath of extreme weather events hit hard.
In March, 3000 people withdrew funds – almost double the number in January, and for the first time on par with those using their savings as a deposit for a first home. A fifth of all applications were for weather-related expenses.
But many more were turned down.
Anyone who feels their KiwiSaver supervisor has unfairly declined a hardship application can bring their complaint to Financial Services Complaints Limited (FSCL), a free service.
Financial ombudsman and Financial Services chief executive Financial Services told Checkpoint on Monday there was a high bar to cross to get approval for a withdrawal due to hardship.
“We’ve recently issued a guide to help consumers understand what they may need to be able to show in order to get their money out early, and what other methods they should perhaps explore before applying for their KiwiSaver funds.”
Taylor said applicants would be expected to have hit “rock bottom”, having exhausted all other avenues, before trying to get their KiwiSaver early.
“They have to basically show they are no longer able to meet their basic living expenses. So for example, if they were having trouble paying their mortgage or a loan, and a bank or lender is threatening to take mortgagee sale action or debt recovery action; or they’re just not able to provide the basic necessities for themselves and their families.
“They do also often have to show they have explored other means of finance before they reach out to the KiwiSaver provider. For example, we’ve had a few cases where people have got other assets, perhaps an investment property. They could look at selling in order to relieve their financial hardship, rather than tapping into their KiwiSaver.”
Providers would then typically only look at releasing enough to get them through the next few months, she said.
So before applying, Taylor said people should seek advice.
“[Talk] to their bank or their lender if they think they’re in trouble paying the next loan payment. The earlier they speak to the lender, the more likely the lender is going to be able to help them and put a hardship package into place for them.”
And if they still decline, the FSCL might be able to help. In a release earlier on Monday, it outlined one case where it agreed with the supervisor’s decision not to release funds.
A solo mother applied to get her KiwiSaver money to clear a debt on a car so it would not be repossessed. But the law does not allow funds to be withdrawn for that.
“Although the supervisor did not release the funds that Tina wanted, they were prepared to release some funds to assist Tina to buy her daughter a school uniform and to fix her broken washing machine,” Taylor said.
“Because Tina’s budget was in surplus and the act does not allow the supervisor to release money to repay a debt, we were satisfied the supervisor had not made a mistake when assessing Tina’s application. We told Tina that we were unable to ask the supervisor to reconsider her application.”
Opinion – Chris Hipkins is blazing his way through New Zealand’s foreign policy.
Chris Hipkins at Gordon’s Market, Papua New Guinea. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
The New Zealand Prime Minister’s fast-but-furious visit to Papua New Guinea this week – which saw Hipkins spend just 23 hours in Port Moresby, the PNG capital – was the PM’s fourth such rapid international trip since he took office.
But after two quick visits to Australia and one to the United Kingdom, this was Hipkins’ first foray into the Pacific.
Moreover, Monday’s trip to PNG put the Prime Minister at the heart of the new ‘Great Game’ for control of the Pacific. And in the geopolitical battle between the US and China, New Zealand is increasingly being asked to pick a side.
Hipkins responded to yet another new superpower security deal – this time between the United States and Papua New Guinea – by saying that New Zealand did not support the “militarisation of the Pacific”.
At first blush, this might seem like some surprising, even eviscerating criticism of the US, an increasingly close partner of New Zealand.
But Hipkins went on to argue rather unconvincingly that “having a military presence doesn’t necessarily signify militarisation”.
Effectively, this was Hipkins giving Wellington’s green light to Washington’s new pact.
It is an agreement that Beijing has already sharply criticised as ‘geopolitical games’.
To some extent, the PM’s linguistic gymnastics are only to be expected, given New Zealand’s gradually more US-friendly approach to foreign policy that has unfolded under the leadership of both Chris Hipkins and his immediate predecessor, Jacinda Ardern.
However, ambiguity remains over just how far this new approach will go.
Of late, Hipkins has been dialling down expectations set by his defence minister, Andrew Little, that New Zealand is considering joining the ‘second pillar’ of the ultra-hawkish AUKUS arrangements.
These currently link Australia, the United Kingdom and United States, but other partners are being sought.
In response to media questioning on New Zealand’s potential role in AUKUS on Monday, the prime minister would only say “that’s not clear”.
But it can be assumed that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken privately put some AUKUS pressure on New Zealand when he met with Chris Hipkins on the sidelines of the summit in Papua New Guinea.
Another major highlight of Hipkins’ one-day mission to Port Moresby was a chance for his first meeting with Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India.
Positively, Modi tweeted of an “excellent meeting” with Hipkins, adding that the pair had discussed “how to improve cultural and commercial linkages”.
Wellington has been playing catch-up in its relationship with New Delhi ever since India’s external affairs minister, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, was the subject of a rather underwhelming reception during his visit to New Zealand in October last year.
In response to the criticism, Nanaia Mahuta, New Zealand’s foreign minister, flew to India in February for her first overseas trip of 2023.
In the meantime, a pledge by Hipkins’ main political rival – opposition National Party leader Christopher Luxon – to make the relationship with India a priority has probably also focused minds in Hipkins’ Labour Government.
While any progress is to be welcomed, New Zealand still lags far behind its bigger neighbour when it comes to ties with India. Following his stop in Port Moresby, Modi is heading to Australia for talks with his counterpart Anthony Albanese and a sell-out address to 20,000 people at Sydney’s Olympic Park.
Although Jacinda Ardern issued a public invitation to Narendra Modi to visit New Zealand, the Indian PM has made no plans for a side-trip to Wellington while on his rare visit Down Under.
If Hipkins needed any further encouragement of India’s importance, he needed only to listen to James Marape, Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister.
On Monday, Marape was effusive in his praise of Modi during his counterpart’s visit to Papua New Guinea, describing him as “the leader of the Global South”. Calling on Modi to continue to speak up for countries such as PNG in meetings with superpowers, Marape vividly depicted developing countries as the “victims of global power play”.
The remarks by Marape will be a salutary lesson for some of the bigger Pacific players.
It is a warning that countries such as Papua New Guinea expect to be treated with genuine respect and interest, rather than as mere geopolitical pawns.
Indeed, the PNG prime minister’s comments contrasted starkly with the ostensibly inclusive, yet ultimately exclusionary ‘Pacific family’ language that Canberra and Wellington have frequently deployed over the past year.
Above all, Narendra Modi’s presence was a reminder that Port Moresby has options.
And to be fair, New Zealand has been putting in some effort with PNG – despite its location in Melanesia, further away from New Zealand’s traditional Polynesian heartland. Well before Hipkins headed to Port Moresby, Mahuta made a special trip to Papua New Guinea in September last year.
That visit came in the context of the Pacific travel push by Western leaders following the Solomon Islands-China security deal signed in early 2022.
But the same cannot be said for a partnership between New Zealand and Papua New Guinea signed in 2021 – or a visit by James Marape to Wellington just prior to coronavirus lockdowns in February 2020.
The recent appointment of Peter Zwart as New Zealand’s new High Commissioner to Papua New Guinea provides further justification for some optimism.
The job is Zwart’s first ambassadorial-level position, but Wellington’s new man in Port Moresby brings a strong track record in Pacific development. He has also previously been posted to China. Prior to becoming a diplomat, Zwart was the international programme manager for the New Zealand arm of Catholic aid agency Caritas.
In the current geopolitical context, Zwart will need to draw upon all of his previous experience while representing New Zealand’s interests.
Whatever happens, Port Moresby will remain a key regional capital on Wellington’s radar.
Chris Hipkins has now had his first taste of the Pacific as New Zealand’s prime minister.
With under 24 hours on the ground, it was the definition of a flying visit.
But it was just the beginning.
* Geoffrey Miller is the Democracy Project’s geopolitical analyst and writes on current New Zealand foreign policy and related geopolitical issues. He has lived in Germany and the Middle East and is a learner of Arabic and Russian. He is currently working on a PhD on New Zealand’s relations with the Gulf states.
Urban marae have been working tirelessly for their communities over the past few years, with previous Covid-19 lockdowns adding to the cost of living pressures.
Chief executive of Papakura Marae Tony Kake said his marae’s foodbank was also struggling to feed everyone asking for help.
Kake told Morning Report the marae gave out about 300 food parcels per week, with Mondays and Fridays the busiest.
About 75 percent of the whānau they helped were regulars – but they welcomed anyone who needed help to the marae for support.
The “working poor” were coming through more often, he said.
Kake said they tried to make the marae an oasis – a place with no judgement and where people were treated with dignity and pride.
An assessment was completed for anyone who needed help, and they tried to lend them a hand with budgeting services or finding employment.
Kake said the donations the marae received for the foodbank were completely donated from organisation such as Auckland City Mission and KiwiHarvest.
“We are really grateful for … what we do get through donations.”
Auckland City Missioner and chairperson of the Zero Hunger Collective Helen Robinson said “hundreds of thousands” of New Zealanders simply did not have enough money for food.
“Food and security was a reality that existed before Covid but it’s certainly being exacerbated by Covid and certainly now with the high cost of living and inflationary pressures,” Robinson told Morning Report.
“It is really, really difficult for thousands of New Zealanders.”
Robinson said a whole range of people were going to the city mission for support.
People would pay the mortgage or rent, make sure their kids got to school, to the doctor and that there was enough for transport to work.
But what was left over “is simply not enough so people are coming to us for food”.
This included people who were working in casual or part-time employment, receiving low wages or on benefits.
Robinson said she had been working at the city mission for 10 years, and when she started, 10,000 food parcels were being distributed a year.
In the 2022 calendar year, just under 50,000 parcels were distributed, she said.
“This is a real crisis in our country that is growing and growing significantly and has been for some years.”
She said $22 million was allocated to the city mission through this year’s Budget to use over two years. While she was very grateful for the funding, it was simply not enough.
“Because there is a lack of funding available throughout our country, we rely heavily on organisations and individuals to donate food.
“What we saw is 2-3 years ago, particularly before Covid, there was significant donations of food and we really have to acknowledge the generosity of New Zealand, both individuals and companies who continue to give very generously, and I think after the floods and cyclones most recently, people do keep giving and it all adds up but it’s simply not enough.”
More and more people were coming to the city mission for help – but it did not have enough food or money to give out to meet the level of need.
Robinson said there was a growing group of organisations looking at what the key drivers of food and security were – and it needed to look to a reality where the country was fed, and fed well, into the future.
He appeared before the Parole Board yesterday and will be released on 31 May.
Warriors chief executive Cameron George said they acknowledge the 37-year-old had made some bad decisions and they do not condone them, but his experiences could be learned from.
George said the position is a part-time voluntary role to help deliver programmes to young players around careers and best choices.
“It’s part of his rehabilitation which Manu has to lead and we’re just a part of many aspects as to how he can get back in and engage with the community.”
George said Vatuvei will not be involved directly with the NRL club, but will help in their well-being programmes that they deliver around New Zealand in different communities.
“We will use Manu to tell his story to future athletes to make sure that they learn from his lessons, and Manu can tell his story that can hopefully steer those kids into bright futures.
“This is a time of need for Manu and if we can provide a little bit of assistance to get him back to where he needs to be, we’ll do that.”
George confirmed that the terms were a part of the parole process.
“We provided a letter (to the parole board) of how we could help, along with many other people and organisations, to help with his rehabilitation.”
In February last year Vatuvei was sentenced to three years and seven months in prison for importing at least $200,000 of methamphetamine from India.
Between 2004 and 2017, Vatuvei played 14 seasons for the Warriors and scored 152 tries over 226 games.
He was nicknamed “the Beast” and became the first player in NRL history to complete the feat of scoring 10 tries or more in 10 consecutive seasons in 2015.
In 2019 he had success in Dancing with the Stars, winning the series with dance partner Loryn Reynolds.
MARTINEZ — A month after Concord police identified him as the shooter in a March homicide, a 20-year-old man was arrested on murder charges and booked in a Contra Costa jail, court records show.
Sione “Ono” ‘Amanaki still at large
Sione Amanaki, of Concord, was arrested April 16 on charges that he killed 21-year-old Eric William Cavazos. Amanaki was arraigned May 10, where a judge revoked his bail, according to court records.
Amanaki and his co-defendant, 19-year-old Haley Sparks-Hadsell, of Martinez are both charged with killing and robbing Cavazos on March 21 during a brief altercation outside a shoe store in the Solano Plaza shopping center, located at Solano Way and Broadmoor Avenue. Sparks-Hadsell was arrested hours after the shooting.
Police say surveillance footage shows Cavazos arrive at the shopping center and begin a conversation with Amanaki and Sparks-Hadsell, who were already waiting in the area. A short time later, a man identified as Amanaki was seen pulling out a rifle, leading to a brief struggle over the gun. That’s when Amanaki allegedly wrestled the gun free, stepped back, and shot Cavazos in the head.
Using area surveillance footage and eyewitnesses, police were able to show that Amanaki travelled to his Concord home immediately after the shooting, according to authorities. When officers went there looking for him he was gone, but a relative identified him in a still of the surveillance footage, police say.
Cavazos died where he was shot, before an ambulance arrived, police said. After he fell to the ground, Sparks-Hadsell allegedly rifled through his pockets before running off. An online obituary for Cavazos, a Concord resident, describes him as “a great example of someone who has both strength and love.”
The Tongan government has proposed that the Niuas islands be allowed to trade with Samoa as a solution to problem that has faced its people for years.
Lord Vaea. Photo/Kalino Lātū/Kaniva Tonga News
The Minister of Internal Affairs wanted to allow the two islands of Niuatoputapu and Niuafo’ou to trade and establish diplomatic ties with Samoa.
Lord Vaea said this would resolve the problem facing the people of the Niuas who had to undertake a long journey to the capital, Nuku’alofa, for their basic needs.
The king’s noble said the Niuas were much closer to Pagopago and Apia. He said they normally traded with the Samoans in the past.
“They were relatives and their languages show they were closely connected”, Lord Vaea told Parliament.
He said the Niuans were related to Uvea (Wallis), Futuna, Tutuila, Upolu and Savai’i.
He said changes occurred which resulted in the kāinga having to come to Nuku’alofa and go back again for everything they needed to be endorsed in the capital.
The Minister was warned that there was a treaty and convention which restricted any diplomatic relation between the Niuas and Tonga’s regional neighbours and the House had no power to make decision on that.
Lord Vaea apologised and said he understood that, but he thought this would be the only solution after he had listened to a number of complaints and requests in an attempt to resolve the problems facing the Niuans because of their isolation.
“Their MP finds it so difficult to ask the House for help,” the noble said.
He asked the House to think about his proposal and whether this was the right time to allow the Niuans to travel to the two Samoans and get help from them.
He said that in the past a vessel travelled from Tutuila in Samoa and Apia through to the Niiuas and from there to Vava’u and returned to Samoa.
“That is the quickest way to help”.
“Travelling from Niuas to Nuku’alofa that’s too long”.
He then proposed to allow the Niuas to have trades and diplomatic ties with Samoa, Wallis and Futuna.
The proposal came after Kaniva News reported last month that students and teachers from the Niuas have had no means of travelling to Tongatapu to attend schools for months.
The islanders were short of goods in the shops and petrol because there has been no ferry service to the outer islands since December.
In 2019 MP for the two Niuas, Hon. Vātau Hui strongly criticised Vava’u 15 MP Sāmiu Vaipulu, who is the current Deputy PM for proposing in the House that his constituencies should stop receiving TP$200,000 funding from Parliament.
Hon. Vaipulu also said the government had spent too much money on subsidising the shipping and aircraft travelling for the Niuas and gained nothing in return.
The Niuas are regarded as among the most isolated islands in the world.
Located in the north of the kingdom, they are the furthest islands from the mainland, Tongatapu, where the capital city Nuku’alofa is located.
It is about 614km from the Niuas to Tonga’s capital Nuku’alofa, while it is only 320km to American Samoa.
A vessel from Tongatapu usually arrives at the islands once a month with passengers, goods for the shops, petrol and mail.
There were 14,657 new cases of Covid-19 reported in Aotearoa in the week to midnight on Sunday, and a further 43 deaths attributed to the virus. The total number of deaths from the disease is now 2893.
In addition, there were 247 cases in hospital at midnight Sunday, with eight in intensive care.
The seven-day rolling average of cases was 1891.
Last week 11,739 new cases were reported, and a further 58 deaths were attributed to the virus.
In last week’s Budget 2023 announcement, $20 million was allocated to lift Covid-19 immunisation and screening coverage for Māori and Pacific people.
Meanwhile, Tokelau has confirmed its first community case of Covid-19, and a lockdown has been imposed.
A spokesperson for the government confirmed to RNZ Pacific the small nation of three atolls announced the first-ever case on Sunday.
Up until now, Tokelau, which is a dependency of New Zealand, was the last remaining country, along with Turkmenistan, to not have experienced community cases.
The case is located on Nukunonu, the largest atoll in Tokelau and does not know how they caught the virus.
Work was underway to establish how the virus entered the community.
In January, Tokelau experienced its first cases of the virus at the border.
All five people who tested positive then tested negative and were able to join the community and attend a wedding.
FAKAMATALA FAKATONGA
Na’e fe’unga mo e keisi fo’ou ‘o e Koviti ‘e 14,657 ne lipooti ‘i ‘Aotearoa he kuo a’u mai ki he Sapate pea mo ha mate ‘e toko 43 tuunga he vailasi Koviti. Kuo a’u ai ‘a e mate fakakatoa ki he toko 2893.
Tanaki atu ki heni ko ha keisi ‘e 247 ne ‘i fale mahaki mei he tu’uapo Sapate pea toko valu ai ‘i he ‘initenisivikea’.
Na’e lipooti ‘i he uike kuo ‘osi ha keisi ‘e 11,739 mo ha mate ‘e 58 tu’unga he vailasi.
Na’e fanongonongo ‘i he uike kuo ‘osi e patiseti 2023 pea ne vahe’i ai ha $20 miliona ke hiki hake ‘a e huhu malu’i ‘o e Koviti ki he kakai Maori mo e Pasifiki.
Taimi tatau pe kuo lipooti mei Tokelau ‘enau fuofua keisi Koviti.
Oku kei loka ai ‘a Tokelau.
Na’e lekooti ai ‘a e keisi ‘e fa he komiunitii ‘i he vaha’a taimi ‘aho 15 ki he 26 ‘o Mee i Nukunonu.
Kuo hoko ai ‘a Tokelau ko e fika ua ia ki he muimui taha ‘o ha fonua ‘i mamani ke ne ma’u ‘a e Koviti 19, kae kei hao pe ‘a Turkmenistan heene a’u mai ki he ‘aho 26 Mee’ fakatatau ki he WHO.
Koeuhi ko e ngaahi fangatangata kuo hoko ‘oku ‘uhinga ia ‘oku tapuni ‘a e ako’anga Matiti ‘i Nukunonu pea ngaahi ‘ofisi fakapule’anga.
Ava pe ngaahi sevese fiema’ua hange ko e fale mahaki, ngaahi fale koloa mo e pa’anga ‘i ha fokotu’utu’u makehe ki ai ke fakasi’isi’i e feō’aki ‘a e kakai.
‘Oku ‘atā ‘a e kakai ke fafanga ‘enau fanga monumanu’ he vaha’a e 7am ki he 9am.
There is a “lack of urgency” around vaccinations, in particular the bivalent Covid-19 booster, the Immunisation Advisory Centre says.
Immunisation Advisory Centre medical director Nikki Turner Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
The updated Omicron-targeted vaccine (Pfizer BA.4/5 bivalent vaccine) has been available for those over 30 since the start of April.
Ministry of Health data, last updated on 12 May, showed 893,157, or 52.5 percent, of those eligible have had a second booster, and 289,402 had received a third booster dose.
Immunisation Advisory Centre medical director Nikki Turner told Checkpoint the uptake on Covid boosters was concerning.
“Now we have got the fourth wave of Covid now, it hasn’t yet fallen into a winter pattern, but it is still with us and we don’t know when the next wave will be,” Turner said.
“I think eventually we’ll expect it to fall into a seasonal pattern. But at this stage, it just keeps coming in waves,” she said.
“So we need to continue to think Covid is there. It is real. It is still killing hundreds and hundreds of New Zealanders every year and we’ll continue to do so.”
People were becoming complacent, Turner said.
“There is a lack of urgency. I think we’ve had this problem always with vaccines. It’s out of sight, out of mind,” she said.
“People forget until we see and feel the disease, how bad it is. We’ve come through a really bad pandemic, but now we still have a bad disease with us.
“So we have lost the urgency to worry about the disease. Same for flu. Flu is a killer as well. And yet we are too complacent. We take it for granted until it really affects us.”
There were probably a range of reasons why uptake had been slow, including fatigue from the pandemic, Turner said.
“I think people are just feeling we’ve been there, done that and we’ve moved on, you know, it’s a bit like flu, you forget what an important disease it still is in our community,” Turner said.
“But there’s a whole lot of other reasons as well. I think we’ve got a bit of a polarised community. There’s a lot of anti-vaccination [beliefs] in the media, in social media. Some people feel very damaged by living through that mandate period in our history,” she said.
“And there’s some systems issues about just getting out and making sure you can get a vaccine.”
There was also still a bit of confusion about the purpose of this bivalent booster dose, Turner said.
“A lot of people are at [still] risk of Covid disease, particularly older people,” she said.
“Older people are 40 times more likely to end up in hospital than younger people, much more likely to die.
“Unvaccinated people are much more likely to end up in hospital, [and] people with medical conditions, so even if you’ve had Covid, even if you’ve had three vaccines to date, you’re still at risk of Covid for many people, but not so much for everybody now, it’s targeting those who are at higher risk.”
Ministry of Health data showed 35.3 percent of those in the 50 to 64 age group and 69.1 percent of those aged 65 and over have had a second booster.
Boosters also helped to pick up waning immunity, Turner said.
“Vaccine immunity works in a similar way [to infection immunity] to protect us. But it does wane and you need boosters think again, similar to flu vaccines, we need boosters to keep our immunity up.
“I think what many people don’t recognise too is that younger people get a better, stronger immune response as we get a bit older, we’re more likely to suffer more severe consequences of Covid.”
The bivalent booster is available to all adults from the age of 30 and over, as well as people with serious medical conditions and pregnant women.
“If you’ve got bad asthma, if you’ve got heart or lung or kidney problems, the vaccine really really helps protect you against bad Covid,” Turner said.
“We may still be getting it, but hopefully we won’t get bad, we won’t end up in hospital and we certainly hopefully won’t end up dead.”
