New Zealand's leading epidemiologist is uncomfortable young kids might be heading back to school despite none of them being vaccinated against COVID-19.
But the Associate Minister of Education says the proposed back-to-school date of November 15 isn't set in stone, and discussions are underway between her officials and the Ministry of Health on ensuring it's as safe as possible.
Kids under 12 still aren't eligible for the Pfizer vaccine, but there's hope they could be soon now that officials in the US have given it the green light.
"I'd be much more comfortable if we were already vaccinating five to 11-year-olds before we open schools, because we've got almost half-a-million children who will otherwise be exposed to this virus without any natural immunity," the University of Otago's Michael Baker told Newshub Nation on Saturday. "That's the situation."
Dr Baker has been described as the architect of New Zealand's elimination strategy, which - if you compare our results to date with similar countries - likely saved hundreds, if not thousands of lives and prevented even more suffering from the ongoing effects of long COVID.
Despite the highly infectious Delta variant of COVID-19 spreading in Auckland, the Government plans to lift alert level 3 lockdown once the double-dose vaccination target of 90 percent is reached. But that figure only counts those aged 12 and over - how many young children are vaccinated, even if that figure is zero, doesn't matter.
Year 11 to 13 students were allowed back this week, but some schools have reported attendance rates as low as 50 percent, while others didn't bother opening at all. There have been reports of students, particularly at lower-decile schools, staying away from school due to work commitments.
"Our young people need to be attending school," Associate Minister of Education Jan Tinetti told Newshub Nation. "It's not just around exams. There's a mental health facet to that as well. We know that being at home, being away from their friends can have a negative effect on our young people. But it has to be safe to do so - we have to make certain that the right supports are in place."
The Government on Saturday announced a $15 million package to help Auckland pupils "re-engage" with the education system after nearly three months at home, including "community-based support and targeted funding for schools".
But Dr Baker says reopening primary schools before a vaccination rollout could leave large numbers of children suffering long-term health problems.
"I am concerned about not so much the acute effects of this infection because children generally do very well - some will unfortunately will still die if they're exposed to it, but it's very rare in children - but the bigger worry I think is long COVID, the chronic effects, which are being detected in children who get this infection.
"I would much prefer that before children are exposed to this virus, they're at least given the opportunity to be vaccinated."
It's estimated around half of those who suffer symptomatic COVID-19 end up suffering long-term health effects lasting up to at least six months. The evidence so far suggests it's not quite as likely in children, but it's still early days, with research ongoing.
US officials on Saturday (NZ time) gave the Pfizer vaccine - the one we use here in New Zealand - its approval for use in children aged five to 11. It's not clear yet when it might get approved for kids here, but it took about six weeks after the US approved the vaccine for 12 to 15-year-olds for Medsafe to do the same.
"There is obviously a rigorous progress Medsafe goes through… that's quite appropriate," said Dr Baker. "But I hope this is being given a high priority."
Tinetti said the Ministries of Health and Education are working together to ensure it's safe even without vaccination.
"This is something that we're trying to work on with some haste so we can come up with solutions that are going to be safe for young people."
Asked if we'd follow the Australian state of Victoria and buy thousands of air purifiers to put in classrooms, Tinetti suggested a much cheaper alternative.
"We've had some NIWA research that's shown, just recently, that has shown that the best ventilation we have in this country is around opening our doors and our classrooms and ensuring good airflow… We have been doing some work around that. We do know that that is the best way forward, particularly in this moderate climate that we have at the moment."
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