People aged 65 years and over, those with underlying health conditions and disabilities, and adults in custody in the MidCentral Health district are starting to get their Covid-19 vaccinations.
Health services in the district have not finished getting the vaccine to the priority group 2 population yet, but started contacting people in the next group during the week.
Chief medical officer Kelvin Billinghurst said there were 50,000 people in the district eligible for vaccination in the third stage of the roll-out, so it would take time to reach them all.
People would be notified in different ways during the next two months, and once they received an invitation, it was important to book an appointment.
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There is enough vaccine for everyone, and nobody will miss out, he said.
People in group 3 were those who were more likely than the general population to become very sick if they caught Covid-19.
The relevant health conditions were similar to those that made people eligible for free flu vaccinations.
They included severe mental illness, poorly-controlled or severe high blood pressure, and being extremely overweight.
MidCentral was still working with iwi and Mori providers to offer the vaccine to kaumtua and their households who fell under group 2.
People could phone 0800 MDHB VAX (0800 6342 829) to book a group 2 vaccination appointment at Best Care (Whakapai Hauora) Charitable Trust, Te Wakahuia o Manawat Trust, or the central clinic in Fitzherbert Ave.
Vaccine sites were not accepting walk-in patients. They were by appointment only.
People in group 4, the general population aged 16 and over, would be waiting until at least August.
More information is available on MidCentral DHBs Covid-19 site, the Unite Against COVID-19 site or the Ministry of Health site.