Research on the impacts of Covid-19 highlights high death rates among Pacific people in Aotearoa and the need to provide better support in the future.

A report has just been publicly released – Pacific contribution to the New Zealand COVID-19 response – Strengths, Weaknesses and Missed Opportunities.

It notes that despite the overall success of New Zealand’s response to Covid, Pacific people were hard hit and the response failed to target their needs adequately, says research lead, Professor Sir Collin Tukuitonga, co-director of Te Poutoko Ora a Kiwa – Centre for Pacific and Global Health at the University of Auckland.

“Despite clear and consistent evidence related to the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on Pacific communities, the national response fell short of engaging with Pacific leaders, instead adopting a generic ‘one size fits all’ approach,” the report states.

Pacific people were twice as likely to be hospitalised with Covid as non-Pacific and non-Māori in Aotearoa, according to the research, which was funded by the Ministry of Health and carried out by the Centre for Pacific and Global Health and two Pacific health and social service providers, the Pasifika Medical Association and the Fono.

A far higher percentage of Pacific people aged under 80 died within 28 days of being reported as a case, than those aged under 80 in other ethnic groups. Of the people aged under 59 years who died within 28 days of being reported as a case, 20 percent were Pacific, compared to eight percent of those categorised as European/other ethnicities of the same age.

The experiences of 147 Pacific people were gathered for the report, which states the virus and ensuing lockdowns took a significant toll on the mental health of all the participants.

Media coverage named a Pacific church as central to a large Covid cluster in August 2021, fuelling “racist vilification” of the Sāmoan community, stigma and discrimination, the report says.

“Government officials, media and Pacific community leaders need to collaborate closely and quickly to prevent similar occurrences of racism from media reports for future pandemics,” it states.

Many Pacific people were essential workers, who experienced fear and anxiety of the virus, in addition to racism.

The challenges of lockdowns and self-isolation were exacerbated for many Pacific families living in multi-generational households.

“The findings from the Covid-19 global pandemic emphasise the existing socioeconomic disparities, such as overcrowded living conditions, high rates of co-morbidities, and delayed access to healthcare, contributing to the disproportionate impact on Pacific and Māori communities.

“Recognising and addressing these structural inequalities are essential components of any comprehensive public health strategy aimed at mitigating the impact of pandemics on vulnerable populations,” the report states.

About 28 percent of Pacific peoples felt they couldn’t access mental health support during alert levels two, three and four, and 26 percent felt they could not access healthcare.

The report recommends that in the future, Pacific health services be given clear guidelines as soon as possible, so they can begin outreach work with Pacific communities and ensure patients still receive healthcare for long-term conditions.

It recommends reviewing policies on hospital visitors, because these were the most challenging of all protective measures for Pacific families.

Plans should enable Pacific communities to establish testing and vaccination centres at the beginning of an outbreak and factor in mental health impacts.

The importance of the church in offering guidance, combating misinformation and offering social support during a pandemic is highlighted in the reports.

While vaccine uptake was initially slow among Pacific people, 95 percent were fully vaccinated by December 2021. About 68 percent of the participants said caring for family motivated their decision to get vaccinated.

Pacific households faced disproportionate economic hardship during 2020 compared to the general population, with 18 percent of households losing half of their income or more.

Education also suffered, as online learning replaced classroom teaching. The research found 20 percent of Pacific students did not have or did not know if they had access to a device at home for distance learning.

“Long-term impacts of loss in learning and disengagement from school require further investigation,” the report states.