Whānau turn out to protect their children

Mā ori have taken full advantage of the first official day of Covid-19 vaccinations for children.

Tamariki aged 5 to 11 years became eligible for their first vaccine yesterday, sparking new kō rero (discussions) and strategies to help them feel comfortable about getting their first dose of the Pfizer paediatric vaccine.

Of the 476,000 children now able to access protection from Covid-19’s variants, about 100,000 are Mā ori, according to Statistics New Zealand estimates.

Mikaia Manukau, 10, and her brother Neihana, 7, were pretty happy about the ice blocks and cartoons set up to keep them occupied as they waited in Ngā Miro Health Clinic’s observation area at Tū rangawaewae Marae’s wharekai in Ngā ruawā hia.

Mikaia said she had missed out on a lot of socialising over the past two years, such as netball, school and camps with her friends, so she was keen to get her first shot as soon as she could.

‘‘I’m not really worried about the vaccine. I want to get it. I’m not worried about the [side effects] in case it goes wrong.’’

Her father, Tim Manukau, had taken her with him when he got his booster shot last week so she knew what to expect.

His grandfather, William Harley Raehe, was senior kaumā tua at Huntly’s Waahi Paa

Marae and helped Princess Te Puea Hē rangi following the 1918 influenza outbreak, Manukau said.

‘‘Te Puea always got him to make sure he looked after the health of Waahi Paa,’’ Manukau said.

The stories that had been passed down through the family had laid the foundations for a prohealth, pro-choice response, Manukau said.

‘‘Traditionally our marae and tribe has been pro-health, so it’s nothing new, and we know the impacts of the pandemics we’ve had in the past so our mā tauranga helps us.

‘‘It’s about learning from the past and any other knowledge that’s out there.’’

It was essential that tamariki Mā ori were vaccinated to protect them from Covid-19, data researcher Dr Rawiri Taonui said.

Taonui’s figures showed Mā ori children accounted for 53.3 per cent of all Covid-19 cases for those aged 12 and under.

Mā ori children also made up 63 per cent of children who have been hospitalised, he said.

‘‘Tamariki are the taonga in the future of our whakapapa,’’ Taonui said.

‘‘At 24.6 per cent of our population, Mā ori communities will be concerned that our tamariki account for 29.9 per cent of all Mā ori cases.’’

Mā ori populations have also been disproportionately affected by Covid-19 across the board, his figures showed.

At 17.1 per cent of the general population, Mā ori made up 44.8 per cent of cases, 39.2 per cent of hospitalisations, and 50 per cent of deaths.