The long and short of it: a qualitative descriptive analysis of self-identifying fat people’s experiences of Aotearoa New Zealand’s COVID-19 vaccination centres.

Publication date: Jun 26, 2026

Healthcare systems historically fail to deliver adequate and appropriate size- inclusive health care to the fat community with implications for fat people’s health and human rights. The COVID-19 vaccination rollout was, and continues to be, an important part of Aotearoa New Zealand’s (NZ) response to the COVID-19 pandemic. People with high body mass were identified as a priority group for early vaccination. To investigate self-identified fat people’s experiences of COVID-19 vaccination centres in NZ. Qualitative descriptive analysis of free-text responses provided by self-identified fat people residing in NZ as part of a international online survey implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 761 NZ survey respondents, 210 respondents provided open-ended and free-text comments about their first COVID-19 vaccination, 169 commented on their experiences of second or subsequent vaccination, and 198 commented on their overall experiences concerning COVID-19 vaccination. Two themes were identified: Navigating challenges in the vaccination centre environment and Advocating for the use of long needles. Findings highlighted healthcare inequities experienced by fat people when accessing COVID-19 vaccination centres and thin privilege at structural and interactional levels, despite identified priorities for vaccinating people with high body mass.

Semantics

Original Article