Fiona’s blog

Today’s announcement about the extension of the Level 4 lockdown under-scores the need for forestry to support the Covid-19 vaccination programme.

Vaccination is the best weapon we have against the more infectious Delta Covid-19 variant. While overseas experience shows vaccines aren’t 100% effective against Delta, there is plenty of evidence that they greatly reduce how sick people get if they catch Covid-19, and how widely the virus spreads if there is an outbreak. 

That means vaccination is one of the best ways to protect our whānau and communities. High vaccination rates will also protect businesses and livelihoods by reducing the chances of new outbreaks that mean we end up going into repeated, or extended, lockdowns. 

I’d encourage all forestry businesses to engage with their workers about the benefits of vaccination, and where possible to help overcome any practical barriers to workers accessing the vaccine. My team and I have all either had our first vaccination or are booked for it.

I imagine there are businesses out there who have already come up with great ideas for supporting workers and crews to get vaccinated. I’d love to hear your stories, so please pass them on to me and I will share them with others in the industry.

In the meantime, here are some useful links and resources about vaccination:

Information on vaccinations from the official Unite Against Covid-19 website

Great videos from the Unite Against Covid-19 website giving the facts on vaccination

Book a vaccination

A video from Dr Tom Mulholland on why he supports vaccination