Planning for COVID-19

If you have help provided by an organisation, they will have plans in place in case your usual support people are unable to work due to COVID-19

If you pay people directly to provide support services to you, then you need to make plans for what could happen if:

• YOU get COVID-19 – consider if the usual people will still be able to provide their services
• THEY get COVID-19 - consider who else you could turn to provide those services for at least 7 days. 
• It’s important to get vaccinated and to have plans around PPE, hygiene, good air-flow and avoiding crowded spaces – especially where masks are often removed (pubs, cafes, etc).
• Have a plan in place for how you will get any medicines or get food delivered including priority services for disabled people. Find out more at HealthNavigator.org.nz.

In-home care and support

We know more people with regular in-home care and support are being disrupted due to staff shortages because of COVID-19.

If you are affected and don't have a provider or are unsure if you do, then our COVID-19 Response Disability team is also available to help. This team covers people who lives in the region from just south of Ōtaki through Porirua, Wellington City, and the Hutt Valley.

Please contact us for more information:

• call us on 0800 829 935 (Mon-Fri 8am-4.30pm) or
• text us 027-281-5017 or
• email us CovidAccessibility@ccdhb.org.nz

Read more about support for disabled people on the Unite against COVID-19 website.

Getting a test

Getting a test is an important way to know if you have COVID-19 and to access further support.

Your GP will know you and your needs, so if you can, get tested at your GP rather than at a community testing station. If your GP can’t provide a test, they will be able to tell you who can.

If you have mobility or other accessibility challenges and are unable to leave your home to get to a RAT collection site, you can arrange to have RATs delivered to you.

• Phone 0800 222 478 and select option 3. A local provider will work with you make sure you have access to RATs. (Please note the home delivery service is only available to disabled people or those who are immunocompromised.)
• The NZ Relay Service and the Video Interpreting Service can be used to contact the Healthline COVID-19 telephone service - 0800 348 5453
• You can also check the Health Point website for testing advice
• Advice for blind, vision-impaired, low vision and deafblind people on taking a RAT is available on the Unite against COVID website.

The following video is in New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL), and shows how to take a RAT and report the result.

Booster shots

While two doses offers some protection, getting a booster is the best thing you can do to protect yourself, your whānau and your community from the Omicron variants. 

First Boosters

You can get a first booster if you:

• are aged 16 or over
• have completed your primary course of the vaccine (for most people, this is 2 doses).

If you are aged 16 or 17, you can get a Pfizer booster 6 months after your last dose.

If you are 18 or over, you can get a Pfizer booster 3 months after your last dose, or a Novavax booster 6 months after your last dose.

Second boosters

You can get a second booster if you are at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19.

This includes:

• everyone aged 50 and over (and from 40 years for Maori and Pacific peoples from 18 November)
• healthcare, aged care and disability workers aged 30 and over
• residents of aged care and disability care facilities
• severely immunocompromised people who received a 3-dose primary course and a fourth dose as a first booster (this would be a fifth dose for these people)
• people aged 16 and over who live with disability with significant or complex health needs or multiple comorbidities
• people aged 16 and over with a medical condition that increases the risk of severe COVID-19 illness.

If you are eligible, you can get your second booster 6 months after your first booster.

Read more here about boosters on the Unite against COVID-19 website.

In the video below Dr Lily Fraser, Dr Siouxsie Wiles, Dr Api Talemaitoga, and Dr Anthony Jordan, answer common questions in New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) about the COVID-19 Booster shot and the Omicron variant.

Hearing

You can find general information for the Deaf community online at Health.govt.nz.

If you need health advice you can access Healthline’s dedicated COVID-19 helpline - 0800 348 5453 - with the help of the NZ Relay Service and the Video Interpreting Service.

For non-urgent concerns:

• Healthline COVID-19 advice can be accessed by e-mail on ops@homecaremedical.co.nz
• fax on 09 377 6247 (e-mail and fax are monitored round the clock, but you may not get an immediate response)
• use Facebook Messenger to reach Healthline through its Facebook page (monitored 7am - 11pm every day).

Please note that there may be a delay in responding to non-urgent requests.

Have difficulty hearing or talking on the phone?

Mask Exemptions

If you have a disability or health condition and you can’t wear a mask safely or comfortably, you are exempt from wearing one - see more information here at the Ministry of Health website.

We know face masks are unsuitable for some people.

If you have a physical illness, a mental illness, a condition or a disability that means you can’t wear a face mask, sometimes or all of the time, you can apply for an exemption pass.

Resources

PPE guidance for primary and community health and disability care workers

PPE guidance for COVID-19 testing