Former TV host Liz Gunn has unleashed in a furious rant after being asked for evidence of children collapsing at a North Shore vaccination centre on Monday.
The claims, which have gone viral despite not being backed up by any proof, allege five kids collapsed at the North Shore Stadium drive-through vaccination centre and instead of calling ambulances, staff asked parents to take kids to the hospital to not scare other parents.
None of the rumours, which have been shared on social media, are backed up by any evidence and the Ministry of Health told Newshub on Tuesday they are incorrect.
"We are aware of some claims of adverse events occurring at the Eventfinda Stadium drive-through vaccination centre on the North Shore yesterday [Monday]. These are incorrect," NRHCC Clinical Director, Dr Anthony Jordan told Newshub on Tuesday.
"We can confirm there are no reports of any such events occurring."
Multiple sources who were at the event told Newshub the claims were "nonsense" and did not occur.
St John ambulance also told Newshub they were not called to the North Shore vaccination centre on Monday.
"St John was not called to the Vaccination Centre that's located at Eventfinda Stadium in Wairau Valley on Monday.
"We did respond to a call to an unrelated medical incident within the facility's gym at 10.23am.
"One ambulance responded and treated one patient who was taken to Northshore Hospital in a minor condition," a St John spokeswoman said.
One of those spreading the claim is former TV host Liz Gunn, who was filmed questioning a One News reporter why she wasn't reporting on the rumour.
In the video, Gunn grabs the reporter's arm before asking: "Have you heard that five kids have… because I used to work at One News… have you heard five kids have collapsed this morning? Have you heard that and are you going to report that on One News."
"I used to sit next to Simon Dallow on the One News desk and I just can’t believe you guys are not reporting the full story. Why would you be hiding something like five kids collapsing?"
Newshub contacted Gunn to ask if she had any evidence to support her claim five children collapsed.
She did not give any evidence or say where she heard the rumour, instead responding with an angry, conspiratorial rant.
"I do have something powerful to say William but since you were irresponsible enough to go to print with your government approved hit piece on me without waiting to talk to me, I will not be saying it to you.
"Please go to print with that statement verbatim ( means quoting ALL words William that I have said here) ...
"Of course, that would not fit with the current zeitgeist of your sorry Newshub outift which, through this covid propaganda-led nightmare, has appeared to be to seek to discredit any who hold deep concerns about this current government's very dubious and, to many Kiwis, dangerous policies."
"Shameful man. Do your job with integrity. Investigate the PM's lies. Go out and find the stories at the hospitals and from the ambo drivers ...the thousands of jab injured Kiwis ...tell THOSE stories.
"You should be ashamed of going out to do hit pieces like the one you did today. Help your fellow kiwis instead of the corrupt US overlords that own new.shub. Have you ever researched Vanguard and Blackrock and their ubiquitous filthy fingers in numerous rotten pies?"
Newshub is owned by Discovery, a publicly-listed multinational broadcaster headquartered in the US.
As it is a publicly-listed company, anyone can buy shares in it. Vanguard and Blackrock are among the top holders of Discovery shares, owning a 10.3 percent and 5.26 percent stake in the company respectively.
Vanguard - based in Pennsylvania - and BlackRock - located in New York - are both investment management companies with trillions of dollars in assets around the world. Neither company has any say in Newshub's editorial output.
"Don't stay working for such foreign filth William," Gunn wrote.
"Find the better part of you and start telling the truth about this jab rollout horror that is injuring so many of your fellow countrymen and women. Find some integrity. Look yourself in the mirror and ask" Do I even like myself and what I am doing with my life? Do I feel good about this place I work? Do I know there are stories being covered up and ignored and twisted? Do I want to be this kind of human being or someone who stands for what is best for this country I was blessed to be born into?"
While Gunn did not divulge any clues as to where she heard the children collapsing rumour to Newshub, she did reveal more about the claim's origins in a video on Steve Bannon-linked Counterspin Media, saying the rumour came via a "buzz".
"What happened was this buzz came up the line of people who were there with signs… saying that up to five had collapsed at the time of the jab," she explained.
Gunn took to Facebook on Tuesday in a 23-minute video on her Facebook page.
In the video, she continued to promote the baseless claim and again did not provide any evidence to back it up.
She even called on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to front and deny the claims.
"If it's really not a lie, Jacinda Ardern would you stand at the podium tomorrow [Wednesday] and absolutely say and guarantee that there weren't five injured children yesterday [Monday] or in fact any injured children."
Gunn's broadcast career started in the early 1990s when she presented the Sunday show for TVNZ.
She then joined TVNZ Breakfast in the original team in 1997 alongside Mike Hosking and Susan Wood.
Alongside her TV commitments, she also worked for Radio New Zealand hosting several shows before finishing in 2016.
