COVID-19 Boosters Approved For 16 To 17 Year Olds

The Government has announced that rangatahi (young people) aged 16 to 17 years-old can now get their booster of the COVID-19 Pfizer vaccine.

MidCentral District Health Board’s Acting COVID-19 Senior Responsible Officer Dr Kelvin Billinghurst says that this is an important step to protecting rangatahi, and Medsafe have approved it.

“Although we seem to be moving past the peak of our outbreak in the MidCentral rohe, the pandemic is not over yet. We have just heard of new variants emerging in the UK, and there’s no telling if we will see another surge sometime soon.”

Rangatahi must wait at least six months after their second dose to get their booster. They can check when they are due for it by visiting mycovidrecord.nz.

“We especially want to encourage rangatahi who are immunocompromised or live with a family member who is, as well as our Māori and Pasifika rangatahi. This is essential.”

Rangitahi can get their vaccine by attending any walk-in vaccination clinic, and from the 14 April they can book an appointment via bookmyvaccine.nz.

Billinghurst says it is important to get your booster even if you have already been sick with COVID-19.

“Overseas we have seen people catch COVID-19 more than once. However, if you have had COVID-19 very recently you should wait three months from the date of your positive test before getting your next vaccine.”

For opening times of walk-in vaccination sites across the MidCentral rohe, please visit https://bit.ly/MDHBTest

For more information, please visit https://bit.ly/rangatahiboosters

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