Questions are being asked about why so many midwives are reluctant to get the Covid-19 jab. 

About 10 percent of them won't reveal their vaccination status, forcing District Health Boards to hire locums to fill the gaps in the hardest hit areas, such as Thames and Taranaki. 

College of Midwives chief executive, Alison Eddy, told Mike Hosking she's not sure why, but says they're not necessarily all full-time, or could be nearing retirement or on maternity leave. 

Alison Eddy says the locum pool is just deep enough to pull things together over the Christmas break. 

“We have lost midwives though, and that’s the real concern given our, you know, already critically short workforce.” 

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