11 October 2021

Congratulations to Otara Scorpions Rugby League club who rallied together 564 people to receive their Covid vaccination as part of the Rally your Village campaign.  

In response to a lower-than-average vaccination rate across Auckland’s South, Pacific Healthcare providers agreed on delivering a collective community outreach to provide vaccination opportunities around the area.  

South Seas Healthcare Bubblegum collaborated with community leaders and healthcare providers to organise a drive-through vaccination event called “Rally your Village.” The event was held from the 1st of October till Wednesday the 6th and was aimed at reaching full Covid-19 immunity across priority areas of South Auckland. 

The event rewarded communities that banded together and produced the highest number of people to get vaccinated. The highest number was awarded to the Otara Scorpions Rugby League club, as 564 people participated in the event due to their efforts. The club received $15 000 in prize money, which they said will go towards new training equipment and resources in 2022. 

Chairman of the Scorpions Willie Maea, “Southseas approached us as a club to enter, and the decision went back and forth between our board. Ultimately, we decided to enter and appointed six of our staff to co-ordinate the event for us. This was Sariah Matautia, Elsie Ulaula, Ria Maea, Ella Stowers, Tregan Sione and Dawn Sione.” 

Teams were required to have a duo of coordinators present at the Vodafone events centre, and another four volunteers would make calls and attempt to inform people about being vaccinated. 

Maea continued, “The primary goal for us was to get as many people as we could vaccinated, with motivation for new resources pushing us along. All six of our staff set about calling as many club members, friends and family members as possible to get them down to the drive-through event.” 

“At the conclusion of the rally, we were ahead with the most votes and out of the 27 organisations participating and managed to get 564 people vaccinated, which was a fitting reward for an outstanding effort by our six staff.” 

Congratulations to all who were involved. 
 

Visit https://covid19.govt.nz/covid-19-vaccines/how-to-get-a-covid-19-vaccination/walk-in-and-drive-through-vaccination-centres/ to find a list of walk in vaccination centres near you!