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(Image: Tina Tiller).
(Image: Tina Tiller).

SocietyJanuary 27, 2022

How to best protect your young children against omicron

(Image: Tina Tiller).
(Image: Tina Tiller).

Omicron is here, but kids under 12 haven’t yet had a chance to get fully immunised – and those under five are still ineligible for the vaccine. So how do we best keep our tamariki safe? Naomii Seah consults the experts for advice. 

Many parents of young children are worried about omicron’s arrival. Although the paediatric vaccine for five to 11-year-olds was made available on January 17, our tamariki are still weeks away from being fully protected against Covid-19. Plus, children aged five and under are still ineligible for the vaccine. But for those concerned, here are a few practical, actionable tips, as well as some answers to common questions parents may have to better protect our next generation. 

Where do I even begin?

Basically, treat children like adults. No, this doesn’t mean giving your five-year-old a martini at the end of a long day. Michael Baker, a public health physician from the University of Otago’s Pōneke campus, who sits on the Ministry of Health’s Covid-19 technical advisory group, notes that protecting young children against Covid-19 is “very much the same for older children and adults”. This means following the updated CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) guidance on preventing illness for both yourself and your little ones. 

This means encouraging basic precautions such as physical distancing – the CDC recommends two metres – frequent hand-washing or sanitising, and coughing and sneezing into elbows. 

Should children wear masks? 

“Children down to the age of two years can wear a mask quite well,” says Baker, who describes masks as “one of the few ways you can actually give children an individual level of protection in indoor environments”. 

Paediatric masks are available from a number of places. The CDC has a guide on choosing the right mask for you and your whānau, including tamariki, but notes that children under two shouldn’t wear a mask. 

Dr Jin Russell, a paediatrician at Starship children’s hospital in Auckland, says that although masking can mitigate infection risk, “it’s important to balance the developmental needs of very young children with protection against Covid-19”. She acknowledges masking two-year-olds would be “tricky”, as care involves frequent feeding and naps.

Russell therefore prefers improved ventilation indoors with vaccinated adults and increased outdoor time as methods of managing infection risk for young children through the pandemic.

As for school-aged children, they “generally tolerate wearing masks well”, says Russell, noting that masking in schools is now recommended for students in year three and under, and mandatory from year four onwards.  

Photo: Getty Images

How can I make sure my early childcare provider will be a safe environment?

Baker notes that the most high-risk situation for young children will likely be attending early childhood education (ECE) centres and just yesterday, the Ministry of Health confirmed a Tauranga ECE was linked to a suspected omicron case.

It’s a good idea, then, for parents to be familiar with their provider’s policies. Baker points out it’s not just the physical environment, such as the ventilation of ECE spaces, which informs risk levels – a centre’s attitude to infection prevention is equally important. 

“You’re hoping [they’ll] very actively enforce the policy that people [with symptoms] are excluded… [and] you hope to have a policy on universal masking for children of all ages,” says Baker. 

Russell notes that “improving ventilation in ECEs is a key layer of protection”. 

Check whether your ECE is increasing outdoor learning activities. Russell recommends a switch to outdoor learning for ECEs both to reduce the spread of omicron and provide “other health benefits for children”. For ECEs with limited outdoor options, or poorly ventilated areas, Russell recommends portable HEPA air cleaners. On Tuesday, the government announced that 5,000 portable air cleaners had been ordered for schools, but it’s not clear if any are destined for ECEs.

Is it safe to take your children to the park? 

Yes. Transmission risk in breezy outdoor areas is low, notes Russell. 

What about playgrounds? 

Outdoor ones, yes. As well as the low-risk nature of well-ventilated outside areas, transmission risk from surfaces is low. Plus, “It’s really important to let children get out and about in fresh air and run around,” says Russell. “It’s great for their physical and emotional wellbeing.” Russell recommends using hand sanitiser or washing and drying hands before and after playing on playgrounds.

They were cordoned off in the first lockdown in 2020, but it’s OK to let your kids use playgrounds – just keep the hand sanitiser close (Photo: Phil Walter/Getty Images)

Pools? 

Russell says she’s cautious about bringing children to crowded indoor environments. When case numbers rise, Russell recommends looking for outdoor alternatives, such as beaches and outdoor swimming pools. 

What if I have to take my child to a supermarket or shopping centre? 

Again, Russell notes that she’s personally cautious about bringing children into any crowded indoor public environment. However, she knows some families have limited options, meaning children often have to be taken with caregivers on shopping trips. 

“Put them in a well-fitted mask if they will tolerate this,” says Russell. She emphasises that the mask should be as high quality as possible. Information on choosing the best mask for your child is available on the CDC website. 

How do I keep playdates safe? 

Again, Russell recommends keeping them outside. “If the children want to come inside, we open up all the doors and windows,” says Russell. When asking about vaccination status of a playdate’s family members, Russell recommends keeping the discussion away from children. “We don’t want children to feel stigmatised no matter what their vaccine status is.” 

Baker adds that “clarity, honesty and kindness are good working principles”, and that parents should be vigilant of their children and “take rapid steps to isolate them if they have any Covid-19 symptoms”. 

What if my child develops symptoms?

“Families should keep children home if they are at all unwell – if they show any symptoms whatsoever,” Russell recommends. And, of course, get them tested.

What if my child catches Covid-19? 

Of course, this is a concern for many parents. Children who contract Covid-19 generally get cold-like symptoms, says Russell – “runny nose, cough, sore throat, headache, fever and gastrointestinal symptoms” – but many may be completely asymptomatic. 

Statistically, less than 2% of children will need to be seen in a hospital. Additionally, Russell says vaccination of children is “very protective against serious illness or hospitalisation”, and even a single dose is protective right up until the due date of the second. So, when your child is eligible, adds Baker, it’s a “good starting point” to get that first shot. 

Keep going!
Image: Tina Tiller
Image: Tina Tiller

InternetJanuary 27, 2022

A conversation with the woman behind a viral video attacking Jacinda Ardern

Image: Tina Tiller
Image: Tina Tiller

The video, shot from a car that blocked the PM’s van, gained loads of attention online, but how does its creator feel days later? Dylan Reeve finds out for IRL

On Saturday, January 21, the prime minister travelled to Northland to participate in the Waitangi National Trust Board’s virtual Waitangi Day pre-recording (the trust had opted in late 2021 to make this year’s event virtual). But according to popular claims on conspiracy theory Telegram and Facebook groups, the real reason was more suspicious: the prime minister was, they suggest, secretly conspiring to complete a vital ceremony ahead of time to avoid massive protests. 

As with any public appearance in recent months, the PM’s visit was met with loud protests, mostly focused on the government response to Covid, specifically vaccinations and the various restrictions connected with vaccination status. What was more unusual on this occasion was a video that began circulating the following day. Filmed from the passenger seat, the video shows a car attempting to block the PM’s van as it exits a parking area in Paihia. The van’s driver is forced to take evasive action, driving over the curb and across a footpath to get past.

The story made headlines across New Zealand media, and was the subject of questions put to the prime minister during a post-cabinet press conference on Tuesday. “At no point was I worried about my safety or the safety of anyone who was with me,” Ardern said at that time. 

Lolly*, a Northland mum in her mid-20s, was a passenger in the car that blocked the PM’s vehicle and shot the now-viral videos of the incident. She was also the voice heard yelling abuse out the open window towards the van. “My mouth went a little crazy in the video,” she admitted sheepishly when I cold-called her to ask about what thousands had watched.

“There’s Jacinda in her fucking bullet-proof van, hiding from the public, we’re fucking chasing her round Paihia,” Lolly can be heard saying in one of the videos.

Lolly’s concern was mainly around the impact of vaccination requirements, she says. “Ever since everything has come into play, really, it’s just divided everybody and everybody looks at each other differently now. Like, I don’t know about everywhere else, but in [town] if you’re not vaccinated you’re treated so differently.” 

Personally, Lolly has got “got nothing against” the Covid vaccine. “My best friend and everyone I live with is fully vaxxed,” she told me, adding that she was planning to get vaccinated after completing her pregnancy. (It should be noted here that there is ample evidence of the safety of the Pfizer vaccination at any stage of pregnancy, and pregnant people are at greater risk of serious illness from Covid-19.)

But she was in Paihia that day, she claimed, to support a family member who’d heeded a call to join protests. “[It was] something to do with money? I wasn’t really interested in that, I just went to support my [family member].”

Lolly isn’t reflexively anti-Labour; she’s voted for the party in the past, although she clarified she’s “been a Green supporter for a while”. But Lolly’s opinion of the prime minister has definitely soured since the beginning of the pandemic. “I think everyone up here, and I can speak for a lot of people, they’re just really pissed off that [Ardern] won’t come out into the community and speak to the people who are suffering from the decisions that she’s made.”

In a Facebook livestream as they pursued the PM’s car, Lolly can be heard saying, “didn’t want to get out and talk to the public, she ran! Everyone’s after her”. 

‘At no point was I worried about my safety or the safety of anyone who was with me,’ Ardern said (Photo: Mark Mitchell/Getty Images)

The massive amount of online attention was a surprise to her. “I did not expect that video to go viral. I literally just posted it up there for all my mates that couldn’t actually make it up there,” Lolly told me. “The next day I’ve got like a million comments and a fricking million messages from random people.”

“If I knew that was gonna happen, I definitely wouldn’t have sworn that much,” she laughed. 

In the video, and others that were posted on her Facebook page, she screamed at the PM’s van, accusing her of “hiding in the fucking back” and calling her a “fucking little bitch” as the vehicle sped away. 

Lolly was keen to point out that she had no violent intentions. “I didn’t want to post the video to encourage people to do that stuff,” Lolly explained. The sometimes vitriolic support the video received online caught her by surprise. “I had to go through the comments and delete everything that was negative. Some people were being pretty agro about it, like giving me big-ups, but that’s not what I wanted. […] Once it started getting shared, I couldn’t put a stop to it and what others were saying and how they were reacting or motivating themselves.”

Some commentators have expressed concerns about increasing violent rhetoric towards the prime minister and others. The 1News story about the incident packaged it alongside threats of death and violence made against the prime minister. It’s not an outcome Lolly is hoping for. “I can see others going further, but I’m hoping not,” she said of suggestions that others might see her actions as something to one-up.

From her point of view, the incident wasn’t planned, and she and those she was with just got caught up in the moment. “We literally didn’t plan to block her in the driveway. We were going out the driveway and she came up beside us,” she said. “If I could take it back, I’d do it in a more calm way. I think it was just the heat of the moment.”

In the videos, however, there were clearly plenty of opportunities for those in the car to make different decisions. As they sped down a Paihia road, in pursuit of the prime minister’s tiny motorcade, Lolly recorded herself enjoying what was unfolding: “Oh this is fun! We’re on a chase!”

Despite being a bit sheepish about the events, Lolly doesn’t seem too regretful. “If only all this viral stuff made me rich [rather] than famous,” she joked in an email after we spoke. 

Despite reports that police are now investigating, Lolly told me she hasn’t yet been contacted by them. “I’m not really worried about the police getting involved,” she said, sounding surprisingly relaxed. “I can explain to them my situation and the way I feel about [Ardern] and why I feel that way.”

Asked for comment, a police spokesperson said that police “do not comment on matters pertaining to the security of the prime minister”, but confirmed “Northland District Police are looking into the matter”.

*We have opted not to reveal Lolly’s real name, nor identify the specifics of family members who were with her.