Why Asian Kiwis are hesitant to get the Covid-19 booster – Stuff

Fiona Luo says she has no plans to get her Covid-19 booster before June.

My main concern is how safe and effective the booster would be, the 30-year-old Christchurch woman said.

I have weighed up the pros and cons of getting a booster and getting infected. I chose to wait and see.

The Chinese saleswoman got two vaccine doses as soon as they were available the first one at the end of July, and the second eight weeks later.

But after seeing some of her friends in New Zealand and overseas who were infected and had mild symptoms during the Omicron outbreak, she has been less keen to get her third dose.

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My vaccine pass will expire at the end of May. I will wait till then, Luo said.

It doesnt matter if I got Omicron before that. That means I shall not need a third jab.

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Despite leading the way with the roll-out of first and second doses, the Asian community in New Zealand is falling behind in the race to get Covid-19 booster shots.

Luo is not alone. Hesitancy, scepticism and misconception towards booster doses are common among Asian communities in New Zealand.

Despite leading the way with the roll-out of first and second doses, the Asian community is falling behind in the race to get Covid-19 booster shots.

As of March 8, 72.5 per cent of those eligible for a booster vaccine have had it including 59.9 per cent of eligible Mori and 59.5 per cent of eligible Pacific peoples.

In the Asian community, 66 per cent of those eligible in Canterbury have had their booster shot, double the 33.1 per cent in early February.

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Lifeng Zhou, board member and chair of Asian Caucus of Public Health Association of New Zealand, says he is concerned the Asian community booster uptake is lagging.

Epidemiologist and board member of Public Health Association of New Zealand Lifeng Zhou said he is concerned the Asian community is lagging in booster uptake, but a closer look at different age groups and sub-ethnic groups should raise much more concern.

The latest data has revealed big differences exist between various age groups and sub-ethnic groups in the Asian community, he said.

Among all ethnic groups, 87 per cent of over-65s had their booster as of March 6, while the booster rate for Asian New Zealanders in the same age group was just 78 per cent.

In the Asian community, 71 per cent of Chinese over-65s have had the booster, compared to 82 per cent of the eligible Indian population, and 92 per cent of Southeast Asian population in the same age group, said Zhou.

The older members of the Chinese community have the lowest booster rate.

Once they get infected, they are more likely to go to the hospital, go on a ventilator or even die.

Omicron outbreaks have happened in Hong Kong and New Zealand at roughly the same time, however Hong Kong has a higher death rate.

One reason for the high Covid hospitalisation and death rates in Hong Kong is the poor vaccine roll-out to its elderly population.

This is a warning for New Zealand. We need a more targeted booster strategy, especially for the elderly.

Language barriers to vital Covid and health information have made older Chinese people prone to misinformation.

Among older Chinese-New Zealanders who are not fluent in English, the main news and information source is WeChat, a major Chinese social media platform.

False and misleading content about Covid, vaccines and its side effects are rampant on the communications and social app, causing fear and panic, he said.

Zhou said the Ministry of Health should communicate with the Asian community in a language and culturally appropriate way.

The number has caught up recently. But there is much more we can do to encourage members of the Asian community to get the booster, he said.

Official information about Covid in Chinese, especially the practical, how-to information, is usually not available, or not on time.

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The Asian Network director Vishal Rishi says the current Omicron outbreak in the Asian community is another barrier to increase the booster uptake.

The Asian Network director Vishal Rishi said his organisation had worked closely with the Asian community in the past four weeks to encourage more Asians to get boosters.

Weve been using newsletters and popular social media, including WeChat, Facebook and WhatsApp, to reach people who speak a language other than English, he said.

But the current Omicron outbreak in Auckland has been another barrier to increase the booster uptake.

Lots of people whose families are self-isolating are not getting out to get the booster, as they are already testing positive (for Covid-19), he said.

Should I get the third dose? I have been asked this question countless times within the past few weeks, Auckland virologist Yi Ge said.

Yes, you should get it before it is too late. Thats my answer.

Booster vaccine hesitancy among the Asian community varies at different age groups.

Older populations are more worried about the vaccines side effects, while the younger ones overlook the long-term effect of Covid-19.

Some people stay home all day, and assume they could avoid getting infected. They simply dont realise how infectious Omicron is and its long-term effect, said Ge.

It is like wearing your safety belt.

It will reduce your chance of being badly injured or dead, but will not prevent you from having a traffic accident. The vaccine is highly effective in reducing severity of disease and hospitalisation for those infected with the SARS-CoV-2.

Ministry of Health immunisation programme equity group manager Patricia Joseph said the Ministry was working with the Ministry of Ethnic Communities to ensure ethnic community leaders and organisations are resourced to help increase vaccine uptake amongst their communities.

A new series of videos in Mandarin and Cantonese have been recorded to promote booster uptake, and will be published online shortly.

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Why Asian Kiwis are hesitant to get the Covid-19 booster - Stuff