Kia ora whānau

The response by New Zealanders to the latest COVID-19 outbreaks has been strong with high rates of testing occurring and increasing numbers of people receiving vaccines.

If a case occurs at Burnside High School, public health authorities will want to know if we are a school with a high percentage of vaccinated eligible students and staff. This information will then be used as part of the local health authority’s assessment of our risk. The more highly vaccinated we are, the less likely it will be that we will have to close the school for an extended period - or we may not need to close at all.

To ensure that this happens, we are now required, by the Government, to maintain a vaccination register. We will need to know if your child has had their first or second vaccine dose, or if they are exempted from being vaccinated. This information will be held by us in accordance with the requirements of the Privacy Act and will only be shared with public health authorities.

We are waiting for further information from the Ministry of Education about the data collection system that will be used and how this register will operate. We will contact you again, very soon, when this is available.

More than 5.7 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine have now been given in New Zealand (as of 7 October 2021):

• 53 percent (2.2 million) of our eligible population are fully vaccinated with two doses
• 81 percent (3.4 million) have had their first dose
• 86 percent of Aucklanders have had their first dose
• 61 percent of Aucklanders have had their second dose.

While the signs of increasing vaccination numbers are very pleasing, still more people need to be vaccinated before we can return to our less restrained lifestyles. The two best things we can to do keep our community as safe as possible is to get tested if we are feeling unwell and encourage everyone who is eligible to be vaccinated.

Ngā mihi nui

Charles Breurkes Phil Holstein

Presiding member Principal

Board of Trustees