Manurewa children get meningococcal B vaccination

By REBECCA WALSH

Sade Su'a is waiting patiently, arms crossed, eyes alert. Around her the air buzzes with anticipation and a slight hint of apprehension.

One little voice asks: "Will it hurt?" A nurse tells her, "It might hurt a little bit." Further down the queue one of her classmates declares: "I'm not scared, I'm a boy."

Sade, 7, and her class at Te Matauranga in Manurewa are among the first pupils in the country to be vaccinated against meningococcal B disease.

The $200 million campaign aims to vaccinate all New Zealanders under 20.

Asked if she knows why she is having the vaccination, Sade says it's because "meningococcal B is dangerous. We need to have it to make us feel better".

As the children file into the school hall and are checked to ensure they are healthy, parents hover nearby, watching and waiting.

"I'm scared of needles," says Sade's mother, Delores Leatinu'u. "I'm more nervous for my children than they are."

For a few of them the possibility of having a needle jabbed in their arm is too much to bear. There are tears and the odd wriggle but most listen quietly as the public health nurses ask when their birthday is and which hand they write with (the vaccination is given in the other arm).

First in line, Scott Ropati, 8, has had his temperature checked after his mother tells the nurses he has a cold. A check by the public health nurse reveals he is well enough for the vaccination but those who aren't will be rescheduled.

A small grimace crosses his face as the needle goes in but within minutes he is sitting happily in front of a video of the Lion King in the observation area where children are kept for 20 minutes to check for any reaction to the vaccine.

Then it's Sade's turn. The smile disappears but only briefly.

"It stings," she says before taking up a seat in front of the television.

Although the biggest complaint is of having a sore arm, a corner of the hall is set up with two beds and oxygen tanks in case any of the children suffers a severe reaction.

Trials for the vaccine showed some children were likely to have a sore arm and swelling around the injection site.

They could also have sore arms and legs afterwards.

For Mrs Leatinu'u, there was never any question of whether her children would be immunised.

"I absolutely, automatically thought I'm going to get my kids in first so I can protect them from this disease. The rates are so high among Pacific people."

Of the 360 consent forms issued at Te Matauranga, 343 were returned and in 333 cases, parents agreed to the vaccination.

Principal Jane Wallis said nine refusals had come in, one of those because of an existing medical condition.

Counties Manukau public health nurse Elizabeth Farrell said media reports that children had been frightened into vaccination were not true.

"We don't do that. We have the view that children and young people need to know about their health. We would never go against a parent's wishes."

A total of 150,000 children in the Counties Manukau area and parts of Auckland's Eastern Corridor - considered the highest-risk area in the country - will be vaccinated first.

The programme will roll out to the rest of the country from next year.