Police are making enquiries after a Dunedin woman posted a threatening video about the COVID-19 vaccine on social media.
In the two-and-a-half-minute video seen by Newshub, the woman is wearing camouflage gear. It was posted by a woman calling herself Lauren Hill.
She talks about going "full war on these assholes" and urges those watching to "get into groups" and "start planning".
She makes several threatening comments directed at vaccinators including threatening to slash tyres and take vaccines. She also voices her opposition to children being vaccinated.
A spokesperson said police are aware of the video and are "making enquiries".
It comes after the Government mandated vaccines for several industries including health workers, teachers, border workers and some Corrections staff.
Vaccination is also required to access many services under the new traffic light system which came into play on December 3.
Medsafe is currently assessing an application to use Pfizer's vaccine on 5 to 11-year-olds. COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins says he expects children to start being vaccinated against the virus before the end of January.
Earlier in the month, Hipkins said the Government is prepared to roll out Pfizer's paediatric version of the COVID-19 vaccine to Kiwi children as soon as Medsafe gives its approval.
"There is still a Medsafe process to go through. But we are now well advanced in our planning for the rollout of vaccines to five to 11-year-olds," he told reporters.
"This under-12 age group has a lower risk of direct health impacts of COVID-19 than older age groups but COVID-19 can still have serious health consequences for them, particularly for children who are immuno-compromised or have significant respiratory conditions."
The paediatric vaccine is an adapted version that's designed to ensure it's effective for tamariki. It's about one-third of the adult dose and it has been thoroughly tested and trialled, Hipkins said.
"Buying and using this paediatric version of the Pfizer vaccine is conditional on the vaccine being approved by Medsafe and they're making excellent progress with the work that they're doing to ensure that the expert advisory group will be receiving the advice by mid-December.
"Once Medsafe makes its decision, the Ministry of Health's technical advisory group then provides recommendations on the use of the vaccine and the rollout of the vaccine. Planning is well underway for that to start.
"We're expecting to start rolling out the vaccine before the end of January."
