‘If these people don’t vaccinate they should be put in jail’
John Forbes and his sister Maea Marshall still live with the consequences of not being vaccinated against a deadly virus. They talk to Florence Kerr.
The anger is hard to disguise in John Forbes’ eyes when the conversation moves to vaccine misinformation. His sister Maea Marshall who sits across the table from him feels the same way.
Knowing that some New Zealanders would refuse a Covid-19 vaccine because of misinformation they have read on social media infuriates them both.
‘‘I believe if these people don’t vaccinate themselves to protect their wha¯ nau they should be put in jail. Simple,’’ Forbes says.
It’s an anger that comes from a place of bitter experience. Both know the lifelong consequences of contracting a deadly virus.
In 1956, when Forbes was five and Marshall was one, they contracted poliovirus during an epidemic. In that year, 76 people died.
When they were able to be vaccinated against polio, it was too late, they were infected. Forbes has paralysis in his right leg, while his sister has it in her right arm. Both have numerous secondary health issues that are a consequence of having had polio.
Decades later, the duo say it is a no-brainer to get immunised against Covid-19.
Marshall received her second dose of the Pfizer vaccine at Tu¯ rangawaewae Marae two weeks ago. Forbes is lined up to get both his vaccine shots in the next few weeks. Both have advocated for vaccinations among their wha¯ nau and community and sharing their story has helped many make the decision to get the vaccine.
As of Friday, 321,502 people in New Zealand had received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccination and 152,933 were fully immunised. A total of 474,435 doses had been administered.
Forbes says he is thankful to have been living in New Zealand during this health crisis, given the three million recorded deaths globally and the 26 deaths here.
Forbes says images of Covidravaged countries conjured up memories of being in the poliovirus ward at Waikato Hospital and seeing the covered bodies of children and adults being wheeled out of the ward towards the mortuary.
‘‘It was painful seeing that as a kid, hell it would be painful seeing that as an adult. I can see it as clear as day now. It’s something you never forget,’’ Forbes says.
‘‘When me and Muff [Marshall’s nickname] were in the hospital, she would cry from her cot for our mother. She was only one, and she was basically ripped from the bosom and put in this ward.
‘‘At that stage, I was paralysed from the waist down, so I would roll off my bed and drag my body over to her cot and hold her hand through the bars. It calmed her
down enough, so she would sleep and the nurses would come in and find me on the floor, holding her hand asleep next to her cot.’’
Both praise their mother Huia Forbes who pushed for the duo to become independent. ‘‘I remember I was getting dressed after a bath and with my arm, it took a bit longer and my nanny wanted to help me, but my mother said, ‘no, she can do it’,’’ Marshall says.
‘‘She wouldn’t let us see what had happened to us as a disability, it was just a thing that happened,
and we learned to live with it. We still had to do chores on our farm as kids. John couldn’t use his legs, so he would steer the tractor and I would push the pedals.’’
While their mother ensured they were getting the best of Western medicine, their father Gordon ensured their wellbeing was infused with rongoa¯ Ma¯ori. They credit both for their healing properties. Both their parents were provaccination, and it’s a belief they have passed down to their children and mokopuna.
Their experiences inspired them to encourage people to get the vaccine.
‘‘The people who feed this misinformation online have no idea what it is like to live through a deadly virus,’’ Forbes says.
‘‘We could have died, and we would have been a loving memory for our wha¯ nau, but we lived, and we lived with side effects,’’ she says. ‘‘Surviving is the hard and dangerous part. Those keyboard warriors don’t know what survival means – that fight is forever. And we see that with Covid-19 survivors – most have recovered from the immediate effects but [some] have ongoing side effects that are far
more damaging than anything else.
‘‘So when they say Covid won’t kill you, they don’t realise that death is the clean way out and surviving is the scary part.
‘‘That’s why it doesn’t make sense that people would forgo a vaccine to protect themselves and their wha¯ nau because of what they read on social media.’’
At Tu¯ rangawaewae Marae, many kuia and kauma¯ tua lined up to get the Pfizer vaccine shots.
Many are descendants of the 1918 influenza pandemic survivors who moved to Nga¯ ruawa¯ hia with Kı¯ngitanga leader Te Puea He¯ rangi.
Nga Miro Health general manager Glenda Raumati says they have vaccinated 270 kauma¯tua with more expected. She says there have been no adverse reactions reported.
Marshall says she felt a bit tender afterward, but the mild discomfort was nothing compared to the prospect of what could lie ahead had she not received her vaccine.
‘‘I want to be there to see my mokopuna grow up. Getting vaccinated isn’t about just you, it’s about protecting the ones you love. It’s an act of aroha.’’
‘‘It was painful seeing that as a kid, hell it would be painful seeing that as an adult. I can see it as clear as day now. It’s something you never forget.’’ John Forbes