Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: Lakes DHB sees 'many' small children and pregnant women in hospital

A Rotorua hospital boss is urging parents to get their children vaccinated "urgently" after some who have tested positive to Covid-19 have been hospitalised.

Chief operating officer Alan Wilson says latest figures, as of last Friday, March 11, show just 39 per cent of children in the Lakes District Health Board area had been vaccinated.

Wilson is also encouraging pregnant women to get vaccinated after new data revealed expectant mothers have also been hospitalised with the virus.

Lakes DHB says this is "of concern" and pregnant women should be vaccinated to protect themselves and their babies.

Their call comes as a Rotorua doctor recovering from Covid-19 warns people "not to underestimate it".

Lakes DHB showed eight patients with Covid were admitted to and discharged from Lakes hospitals between February 23 and March 8. Some of the cases admitted to hospital have been expectant mothers and small children, the board said.

Lakes District Health Board chief operating officer Alan Wilson. Photo / Supplied

Wilson told the Rotorua Daily Post: "Of concern is that many cases have been small children and women having babies with Covid admitted to hospital."

"It's very well known that pregnant women are much more at risk and that they should be vaccinated during pregnancy both for themselves and for giving some protection to their baby both through immunisation and through breastfeeding."

Wilson said children aged 5 to 11 needed to get vaccinated "urgently" due to the high levels of Covid in schools.

Tamariki aged 5 to 11 can be protected against Covid with two paediatric (child) doses of the Pfizer vaccine at least eight weeks apart, the Ministry of Health website says.

Board data showed five of the eight people hospitalised were unvaccinated and three had at least one dose of the Covid vaccine.

"Like the rest of New Zealand, patients who need to be hospitalised in Rotorua with Covid are generally unvaccinated," Wilson said.

The board was asked for a breakdown of age and ethnicity but declined to provide the data due to the small number of patients.

Wilson said the board had seven to eight patients in hospital at a time which compared with three to five patients the previous week. Some of them were in hospital with other conditions and also had Covid.

"There is still a lot of potential to increase vaccination rates, and it is not too late to have first, second doses or boosters.

"Lakes District Health Board continues to urge people to get vaccinated because you are far less likely to get really sick and have to go to hospital if you catch Covid-19.

"You are also less likely to pass Covid on to other people."

Three Lakes Clinic GP Dr Cate Mills said Covid had made her "really unwell". Photo / Supplied

As of yesterday, there were 3728 active Covid-19 cases in the Rotorua district, Toi Te Ora data showed.

Meanwhile, Three Lakes Clinic GP Dr Cate Mills said she was at home with Covid-19.

"I'm struck by the fact that it has made me, who's a reasonably healthy and fit person, really unwell across the last week."

Mills was double-vaccinated and boosted, and said Covid should not be thought of as "a mild infection".

"I think it's great to try to avoid it and ... if you are sick to stay at home and to keep testing."

On the data about pregnant women and children being hospitalised with Covid, Mills said this reflected most cases being in younger people.

"Younger people are more likely to be living with family or have more people involved in their lives in school and kindergarten ... so they're also in those transmitting environments as well ... That's just where the virus is currently spreading."

Mills said tamariki vaccinations had been "quite a lot lower" than the adult population.

"There's a lot of hesitation for people around vaccinating their children."

Mills said pregnant women were "quite a vulnerable group" because they were more likely to be more unwell with Covid because of their altered immune status with pregnancy.

Rotorua Principals Association president Gary Veysi. Photo / Andrew Warner

Rotorua Principals Association president Gary Veysi said Rotorua schools had "a lot of kids away" due to Covid.

Some schools had closed for a week because if too many teachers were affected, no one could take the classes, he said.

But schools had systems in place to try to get back to normality, he said.

"If that normality means that we are still wanting people to get vaccinated, yes 100 per cent we need families to look at those choices and make that decision."

Veysi said child vaccinations came down to "family choice" and he urged parents to look at the options and research to help make that choice for their family.

He said vaccination numbers among children were "possibly" not high because some believed Covid did not affect children as much as other age groups.

A Rotorua Area Primary Health Services spokesperson said vaccination was recommended for pregnant people over 18.

"Catching Covid when you are pregnant is more likely to make you very unwell and there are also risks for your unborn baby, with the Ministry of Health reporting that babies in this situation are more than five times more likely to be born prematurely and require neonatal care."

Millions of pregnant women around the world have been vaccinated, and evidence showed being vaccinated could provide extra protection for babies through antibodies in breast milk, the spokesperson said.