Hawke's Bay early childcare providers have less than two weeks to get their first Covid-19 vaccine, and until January 22 to get their second. Photo / Pexels Pavel Danilyuk
Hawke's Bay early childcare providers have less than two weeks to get their first Covid-19 vaccine, and until January 22 to get their second. Photo / Pexels Pavel Danilyuk
Hawke's Bay early childcare providers already struggling with staff shortages say the Government's Covid-19 vaccine mandate will add further pressure and may lead to closures.
From November 16, education staff who have contact with children and students will need to have had at least their first dose of the vaccineand their second by January 22.
Cushla Bower, a consultant for international childcare provider Rockmybaby, which is headquartered and has three centres in Hawke's Bay, said the mandate had had a "substantial impact" on their business and the industry.
"When the borders closed, that stopped our pool of those international nannies and au pairs to buffer up the market and support families."
Cushla Bower, a consultant for international childcare provider Rockmybaby, said the vaccine mandate would add to staffing pressures. Photo / Warren Buckland
This had also increased costs for childcare providers.
"With the vaccination mandate, that's been quite challenging," Bower said.
"It's definitely affecting nannies that don't want to be vaccinated."
Bower said they were still working through how many people this might apply to, and it had been a "huge administrative undertaking" adding to the pressure faced by staff.
"We do have a pool of people who are choosing not to get vaccinated."
While a strong supporter of vaccination as "the answer", she didn't feel the mandate should make a "blanket rule" and wanted a case-by-case regime.
The case of a pregnant early childcare worker from Hastings who did not want to get vaccinated until after the birth of her child, was a prime example of this, Bower said.
Hawke's Bay Today agreed not to name the 27-weeks-pregnant woman or identify the centre where she worked.
Cushla Bower, a consultant for international childcare provider Rockmybaby, said the border closure had already led to staff shortages. Photo / Pexels Syan Krukov
Her first pregnancy, she wanted to wait until after the birth to get vaccinated but this meant she would no longer be able to work in the sector; "there's sadly no way around it".
She felt the mandate had been made too early.
Erin Maloney, president of the New Zealand Home Base Association and founding director of Tiny Nation, was supportive of vaccination in general but said the mandate had created "a lot of frustration and confusion" because of the timeline and lack of information.
It would result in the loss of some "really good teachers and educators" and agreed it would compound the existing staff shortage, she said.
In Hawke's Bay, she estimated a 10 per cent loss of staff but said it could be closer to 40 per cent for some providers in other parts of the country and was especially difficult for home-based carers.
Erin Maloney, president of the New Zealand Home Base Association and founding director of Tiny Nation, supported vaccination but said the mandate had created challenges. Photo / Supplied
Fully vaccinated herself, Maloney said she supported the mandate about educators getting vaccinated and making sure their environment for care was "as safe as possible".
However, the need for whole households where childcare was provided to also be vaccinated added an extra challenge, she said.
"They need more time to work through this."
Sunny Days Napier centre manager Cathy Grigsby said there would be some centres that might have to close.
"It's a really difficult time with the teacher shortage."
She felt they were in a better position, though, because the centre had been recruiting before the mandate. Others were not quite so lucky, she said.
"[I] agree vaccination is the only way forward for the country."
