Choose well for yourself and your whaanau

Community Providers

Featuring Natasha Kemp, Manurewa Marae CEO and Dr Nua Tupai, Bader Drive Doctors

Access to free health advice

There are many ways you can access free health advice and help whenever you need it. You can access online resources any time, go to your pharmacy for healthcare advice or call free phone numbers.

Always call 111 first if it is a life-threatening emergency or you or someone you know is in danger.

Healthify.nz Reliable online information about health and medicines, self-care resources and videos can be found at the Healthify He Puna Waiora website Healthify.nz (previously Healthnavigator.org.nz).
Healthline Call 0800 611 116 any time for trusted health advice and information from nurses, paramedics, advisors, and doctors. You can choose to speak with a Māori clinician if you’re calling between 8am – 8pm.
Disability Helpline Call 0800 11 12 13 or text 8988. A dedicated team can support members of the disability community with COVID-19 testing, face mask exemptions, managing COVID-19 at home, any general health concerns, information and support. For assistance, you can access this using the NZ Relay Service.
Vaccination Healthline Call 0800 28 29 26 for COVID-19 and flu vaccination advice, information and booking assistance.
COVID-19 Healthline Call 0800 358 5453 for support, information and advice about COVID-19 specifically.
Family doctor If you don't have a GP, you can find one using this online directory.

Keep healthy habits

Let’s keep practising these throughout winter to keep ourselves and our communities safe.

Wear a face mask - we still need to wear face masks with visiting most healthcare services. It’s also a good idea to wear a mask when on public transport, in taxis, in indoor settings like retail stores and supermarkets, in poorly ventilated spaces, or when it is hard to physically distance from other people.
Maintain good hand hygiene by washing and drying your hands thoroughly or using alcohol-based hand sanitiser.  
Sneeze or cough into your elbow or a tissue. Avoid touching your face, dispose of tissues in a waste bin immediately and wash or sanitise your hands. This will prevent the risk of spreading COVID-19 and other viruses such as colds or flu.

Get winter-ready

Be prepared, just in case.

Check you have everything you need to stay well including prescriptions and medicines.
Develop a winter plan for your whānau so family members know what to do if people become unwell. Familiarise yourself with what is expected of you by your employer if you become sick yourself.  
Get your Winter Wellness Kit together including painkillers, a thermometer, tissues, cold and flu medications, enough food and household items for a few days, and a good stock of the regular medicines you or your whanau will need.

Stay home if you’re unwell and get a COVID-19 test

If someone in your whaanau gets sick, it’s a good idea for them to stay in one room or area until they are well.

Wear a mask to care for them, and if possible, get them to wear a mask as well. Regularly ventilate or air your home by opening windows and doors. Be sure to wipe clean any surfaces around the house that are frequently touched such as door handles, benchtops, and tables.

Talk to your doctor, nurse, pharmacist, or health practitioner about your eligibility for COVID-19 antiviral medicines. Read more about free COVID medicines here.

People with a high risk of becoming very sick from COVID-19, people aged 65 or over, Māori or Pacific people aged 50 or over are eligible.

Find advice call Healthline on 0800 358 5453.

Whooping cough and flu / respiratory illness in young children this winter

If you have a sick child with breathing difficulties, seek medical care from your doctor immediately. You can call Healthline anytime on 0800 611 116 for free health advice and information.

Symptoms can also include fever, cough (can turn into a coughing attack, with vomiting and sometimes has a whoop sound) and a runny nose. Please seek medical advice if your child has any of these symptoms or has had a cough for two weeks or more.

Please keep your child at home if they are sick or awaiting whooping cough test results. Please don’t visit young babies if you are sick this winter. Flu and whooping cough are very infectious, and babies can get very sick from them quickly.

Vaccination saves lives

Vaccination is one of the most important ways we can protect ourselves, our whaanau and our communities from many infectious diseases.

Getting a flu vaccine is the best defence from the flu this winter. Its available now and are free for those most likely to get very sick.
Make sure you have all doses of the COVID-19 vaccine – it will protect you from the worst effects of COVID-19.
Check that your family are up to date with their routine vaccinations for measles, mumps and rubella (MMR).
Some people missed their routine MMR immunisations due to COVID-19 and will not be protected from this highly contagious illness.
For more information on immunising your child visit Health Information and Service website

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