Middle NZ: Better to pick up work than bugs

All it takes is someone to cough or sneeze near you to pass on bugs.

COMMENT
I remember having measles as a child. I stayed home from school for what seemed like a long time. I can't remember how long it was but I was bored.

Luckily I didn't have a very bad dose — no scars.

My children were all vaccinated. For me it was important. I also remember taking the bus from Dannevirke to Woodville on a bitterly cold and foggy winter's day to take one of my children to be vaccinated.

Don't ask me why the clinic was in Woodville, I can't remember. I do remember my feet and hands feeling frozen, the fog that you could barely see through and the long wait for my appointment.

Would I do it again — absolutely.

There are many people that don't believe in vaccinations and this column is not about trying to change their minds.

It's more about reaching people that want to but perhaps don't have transport to get to appointments, or simply just don't know how to even start the process, so therefore their children miss out.

As of early this week, there had been two confirmed cases of measles in Hawke's Bay and around 28 people in isolation.

Measles is a tricky one to diagnose because early symptoms, fever, runny nose and red eyes are similar to a cold, and there's plenty of that doing the rounds at the moment.

Every second person I talk is recovering from a cold or the flu has got it or is getting it.
It's winter — that's what happens in winter.

Someone coughs near you and wham it's your turn to feel like rubbish.

Linda Hall is Hawke's Bay Today's premium content editor.

I know I have said this before but it is so important to stay home when you are sick. You might feel as if you are letting your colleagues down by not being at work but in fact, you are doing them a favour.

I would much rather pick up someone else's work than pick up their bugs — it would also help stop the spread of measles.

It's such a vicious circle. Someone comes to work with a cold. The person sitting next to them gets it, takes it home, then their family is highly likely to catch it and on and on it goes.

So stay home people if you are unwell and if you know someone with young children who may need help getting their child to a doctor's appointment whether that be for vaccination or because they are unwell, give them a helping hand.

Now changing the subject to something the opposite to illness — gold — way to go our fantastic Silver Ferns.

The 2019 world netball champions are just fantastic.
They got gold — pity there wasn't a bit of gold to line their pockets.

I find it outrageous that the Ferns get absolutely no financial benefit for winning gold when the Black Caps got $3 million for coming second.

So the Black Caps (who from what I've been told several times were robbed of the win) end up with about $187,500 - each. Nothing to be sneezed at.

But our World Cup holders get nothing. Something stinks here. Time for a rethink me thinks.

Linda Hall is Hawke's Bay Today's premium content editor.