Families queue for kids’ vaccines
Streams of cars snaked around vaccination centres across most of the country as parents queued up to get their children jabbed with the Covid-19 vaccine.
Yesterday marked the first day children aged 5 to 11 were eligible to receive their first vaccination against Covid-19.
About 120,000 paediatric doses of Pfizer vaccine have been delivered to 500 vaccination sites around the country.
By 1pm in Auckland, more than 3200 children were given a vaccine, according to the Northern Region Health Co-ordination Centre.
Papakura Marae reported vaccinating some 30 under12-year-olds every hour.
Meanwhile, there was confusion across several of the
Southern District Health Board’s medical centres on when vaccinations could take place for children.
On Friday it said it would be vaccinating children from today but medical centres in Wānaka and Queenstown were not offering the vaccine until next week.
Stuff walked into both of Wānaka’s medical centres, which each confirmed they were not taking bookings until January 25.
Earlier in Auckland, Katrina and Tony McDermott had been in line since 8.30am to get their 11-yearold son, Luke, vaccinated.
Luke said he was ‘‘kind of’’ nervous getting his vaccine and had applied numbing cream to his shoulder in preparation.
Andy Egli was joined by his two children, aged 6 and 8, and said the family were getting their vaccines ‘‘for safety’’ in time for a road trip they were embarking on later this week.
Stefan Whiting said he took his children, Abby and Noah, to get their vaccines as he was immunocompromised. ‘‘I want to get them done before school,’’ he said.
About 20 protesters were on site, shouting into megaphones and handing out fliers.
Protests were also seen in other parts of the country, including in Manawatū.
Other vaccination centres around Auckland were experiencing a surge in visitors, including the Westgate vaccination centre in West Auckland – where both Minister of Social Development Carmel Sepuloni and former All Black Ofisa Tonu’u were among those queuing up.
Sepuloni joined the line early with her 8-year-old son.
They were ‘‘protecting our children, whānau and communities’’ by getting vaccinated, she said on Twitter.
In Wellington, a long queue of children formed outside the Gateway vaccination centre.
Cousins Zac Flutey, Jacob Flutey and Harrison Tocker were so eager to get the jab they arranged it among themselves, mother Jana Tocker said.
In Christchurch, Hillmorton Medical Centre was not offering child vaccinations until February and Barrington Medical Centre was at full capacity with child vaccinations by early yesterday
afternoon.
About 476,000 children are now eligible to get the jab after the Government approved the paediatric version of the Pfizer vaccine in December.
For under 12-year-olds the vaccine is specially formulated with a lower dose and a smaller volume of the vaccine that adults are given.
Two doses will be given to children, with at least an eightweek gap in between the first and second dose.
The interval to receive the second dose can be shortened to three weeks (21 days) if needed – such as if the child is set to have an immune suppression treatment.
The child vaccine roll-out comes just before primary and secondary schools restart for the year.
Dr Jin Russell, a developmental paediatrician at Starship children’s hospital, said the children’s vaccine had an ‘‘excellent safety profile’’.
Across the country, many vaccination centres were preparing for a busy day as more than 530,000 adults were eligible for their booster shots.
The Northern Region Health Co-ordination Centre was expecting a busy start to the year.
In the Delta outbreak, nearly a quarter of the community cases were children aged under 11.
Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said in December that ‘‘immunising 5 to 11-year-olds helps protect whānau members whose health makes them more vulnerable’’.