New Zealand children aged 5-11 are now eligible for the Covid vaccine, and the immunisation programme has seen strong demand in its first days.
But not all children will be jumping at the chance, so what if your child is scared of needles or feeling anxious about the vaccine?
It's important to have a plan and talk to your child before they get vaccinated, says a paediatrician at Auckland's Star Ship Hospital.
Photo: Ina Fassbender / AFP
It's best to clearly tell your child why they're getting the vaccine and what to expect when they get to a vaccination centre, says Dr Jin Russell, a community and developmental paediatrician at Starship Hospital.
The overall background noise around the Covid-19 virus is disconcerting for them, she says.
“It really depends on the sorts of conversations that are being heard at home. Some are very good at picking up the temperature at home. Something that I always say to parents is children regulate their emotions alongside you. So, stay calm when you’re talking to children. I like to talk to my boys in a matter-of-fact way and just use really simple descriptions.”
Giving your child clear, simple information and explaining the benefits of the vaccine will help them get to grips with the occasion.
“It’s really important to be led by the child," she says. "I think all children deserve a really clear and simple explanation of why we’re getting vaccinated. I tell me boys we’re vaccinating to protect you from getting sick so that if you did manage to catch Omicron it would just be like a cold.
“I also say that it’s important to protect our communities and be able to stay at school. So, they need a simple explanation and older children might want more detail and there are nice resources at the kidshealth.org.nz website.
The paediatric dose of the vaccine is a third of the adult dose and involves two vaccinations given eight weeks apart.
For children who are medically vulnerable, have immuno-suppression for example, Russell says it would be reasonable to think about pushing the second dose forwards to three weeks.
The reason the doses are smaller for children, she says, is because children have much stronger and more responsive immune systems.
“So, it’s not so much to do with size, it has to do with the quality of the immune response we expect to get. We have now a wealth of safety data from overseas showing us that the dose that’s being given is that it’s very safe. It’s incredibly safe for children. Few side effects than are seen in adults – a very, very low side-effect profile and so the risk of any serious adverse effects happening is incredibly low.”
Not all vaccination centres around the country are administering children’s doses.
Russell suggests using the Bookmyvaccine.nz website to find a centre near where you live and book your children in for the vaccine.
“If your child happens to have a disability you can tick a box. That means that the disability teams can get in touch with you.”
Many children will be apprehensive on the day so preparation is vital, Russell says.
“The key thing that helps children is to have a strategy with how they want to be distracted when they’re being vaccinated. I tell them that it’s going to be over very quickly. I also say that, if you can count to four, then you can get vaccinated and by the time you count to four it will be over.
“When they get to the centre, a lot of the centres have very child-friendly set-ups and there are some distraction techniques you can use. So, bringing a soft cuddly toy, having something to look at, either on a wall or a game that you play with him at the time, or some people like to play a song or a video on their phone.
"Have a talk with your child first about what they’d like to do to distract themselves and then make a plan for afterwards. How you’re going to celebrate getting vaccinated and something to look forward to afterwards. That’s helps as well.”
She advises against putting too much emphasis on needles and pain, but instead on the short time it will take.
Being a calm presence at the centre is also important for them.
Asking too many questions of vaccinators will not only cause delays but may make the child more anxious, Russell adds.
For children who have genuine needle phobias, a numbing cream or patch can be rubbed into the area for vaccination.
Some centres have the patches and you can request one, although it takes up to 45 minutes for it to work. This can be prescribed by a GP or purchased over the counter.
The Covid-19 variants affect children in different ways, Russell says.
Children, in general, have experienced less severe illness from Covid-19 compared to older age groups, getting symptoms akin to a common cold, fever and sometimes vomiting and diarrhoea.
In Australia, statistics show 20 percent of children are asymptomatic. But every now and then a child will become extremely unwell.
About one in 3000 children will develop multi-system inflammatory syndrome, also known as PIM-ST (Paediatric inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2), according to Australian statistics.
This condition causes a fever six-eight weeks after the infection and can cause inflammation across multiple body organs, necessitating many to go to intensive care.
There is no pre-existing condition that would stop a child from getting the Pfizer vaccine unless they've already displayed a severe allergic reaction to the vaccine itself or a component of the vaccine, she says.
Additionally, there is no evidence to suggest getting a booster shot would provide children with any more protection from Covid-19, given they already have better immune systems than adults.
Providing vaccination for children is part of a whānau-centred approach, Russell says, as if children are less likely to catch the virus, so too are their families.
