Debates have sparked up this week over the Ministry of Health’s decision to announce the Pacific ethnic background of Covid-19 cases in the community.
On Monday, Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield said Pasifika account for more than half of the current community cases in the Delta outbreak. During Tuesday’s press briefing, Bloomfield said the majority of cases were of Samoan ethnicity — in large part due to the subcluster at the Assembly of God church.
Dr Debbie Ryan, who runs policy and research consultancy Pacific Perspectives, says the ethnic breakdown of cases is “a two-edged sword”.
“Certainly when we talk to our communities, people always ask for the ethnic-specific data, because we know that we are very different,” says Ryan.
“So when you say Pacific, we want to know – is it Fijian, is it Samoan, is it Tongan, because then that gives our communities the information they need to act.”
Pacific providers, equipped with this information, are working to make sure key messages, health services and other support reaches the right communities quickly and effectively. Initiatives this week include a ‘restricted access’ testing centre for the AOG subcluster, organised by Samoan AOG church leaders together with South Seas Healthcare and The Cause Collective, and extra utility and food support for Pacific families.
A new 0800 helpline has also launched to make it easier for Pacific people to book their vaccinations, and other ethnic-specific initiatives are planned. Pacific health expert Dr Collin Tukuitonga says the Niuean community is requesting a targetted vaccination event provided by Niuean health workers — an idea the Tongan community is also discussing.
“Our community groups pull together brilliantly and get it done; unfortunately, mostly we are doing that after the fact, after we have a problem,” says Ryan.
She says the impact of the latest outbreak on Pasifika reiterates the need for a commitment to equity, and we only need to look at tangata whenua to see what works. Māori make up 2% of cases in the August 2021 community cluster, while Pasifika make up 70%.
“Māori are relatively protected in this outbreak, and that’s no accident. That is because of the prioritisation of their needs, which is absolutely appropriate.”
While reporting by ethnicity is useful, Ryan says there is reluctance to release this information because of the “terrible social media comments” and “trolling of the people who are affected”.
“We just have to keep going back to – it is not the people, it is the virus. This is a virus that doesn’t care about who you are,” says Ryan.
“This need to protect our communities I think is some of the hesitation around releasing more of the data.”
Sixty eight new community cases were announced in Thursday’s press briefing. There was no mention of the ethnic make-up of the cases. The Ministry of Health has now updated all ethnic data of Covid-19 cases on its website.
Watch John Pulu’s full interview with Dr Debbie Ryan below. For more Covid community coverage, watch Tagata Pasifika this Saturday, 9.30am on TVNZ 1.
