Covid 19 coronavirus: Whanganui students told anti-vaccine campaigners to 'go away' - Deputy principal

Deputy principal Val Rooderkerk said the vaccination session for Whanganui City College pupils aged 16 and over was well supported. Photo / File

By RNZ

Whanganui City College students received their first dose of the Pfizer vaccine last week, despite the presence of a few protesters trying to hand out pamphlets to pupils.

Deputy principal Val Rooderkerk said the vaccination session for pupils aged 16 and over was well supported, and whānau also took up the invitation to have their vaccine.

A small group of people were outside the car park trying to give flyers to students, Rooderkerk said.

"We didn't have huge numbers," she said.

"One of the [other Whanganui] schools told me they'd had about 100 people parked outside the school for a good week and really harassing the kids, giving them leaflet propaganda I guess, about why they shouldn't do it."

At Whanganui City College, protesters did not appear to have had much of an impact, she said.

"In fact, the only ones that the protesters talked to in our school were all under 16-year-olds - or the ones that talked to us - and they said 'oh Miss we just told them to go away'.

"Apparently a couple of them followed the kids into the bakery on the way home and just keep saying 'don't have that', harassing them, and the boy just told them to go away."

Rooderkerk said the school had had emails from different organisations wanting it to think carefully about the vaccine programme.

The school tried hard to make students were well informed, she said.

"We've been really, really clear with them that it's a choice that they get vaccinated, but that they should make sure they're making a very informed decision.

"The DHB were fantastic and came in and did an education session beforehand and invited everybody that wanted to come to listen. They answered all the kids' questions.

"It's irresponsible, I guess is what we would say, for members of the community to give one side of the story to impressionable teenagers who are already worried about the planet and what's happening every day."

Doses left over from the session at the school did not go to waste.

Rooderkerk said the DHB contact person asked nearby organisations and companies, and the spare vaccines were taken up by the Māori Land Court.