Nelson’s Medical and Injury Centre medical director and whānau line up for COVID immunisations

The Medical and Injury Centre’s William Parkyn, along with his wife and kids all lined up for their COVID-19 vaccinations on Sunday. The adults were receiving their boosters and their kids the 5-11 year old jabs. Will and his wife Aimee moved back to Nelson in April, after a four-year stint in the Hanmer area. Having grown up in the area, meeting at Waimea College and being a student and junior doctor in Nelson Hospital, it was nice to come back to the community they love.

There is evidence the vaccination decreases symptoms in children and so I am hoping we can get high rates of vaccinations in the area

“I didn’t make the vaccination decision lightly. With my medical background I was aware of the incredible success in controlling horrible illnesses throughout history with vaccinations but I wanted to be sure I was doing the right thing, so I did my research.

“The scientists and specialist are sure the vaccine is safe. There is no one I trust more with my young patients and own kids health than paediatricians so a visit to the Starship Hospital website was an obvious trusted source. After looking at their summary of the research on the Pfizer vaccine I had no doubt I was making the right decision for my kids.

“My wife received her vaccinations during pregnancy and had no side effects. Once again we did our research prior. There is more and more evidence into how catastrophic COVID-19 can be in unvaccinated pregnant women, all the specialist obstetric colleges recommend vaccines and so it became obvious having it was the best option for us.

“I have since spoken to a very experienced Nelson obstetrician who is really concerned about the number of unvaccinated women in the area.

“That baby is now a happy three-month-old but he cannot get the jab yet and so us all being vaccinated is part of doing as much as we can to protect him and others who are vulnerable.

“There is a lot of hearsay and antivax messages around, especially on the internet so it is often difficult for people to know what to trust. Doctors are trained to look critically at evidence and practice evidence-based medicine.

“I implore all parents to speak to their GP or other trusted health professional if they have concerns about the vaccine.

“There is evidence the vaccination decreases symptoms in children and so I am hoping we can get high rates of vaccinations in the area.

“The RSV outbreak in children last year was horrible for our doctors, nurses and everyone working at MIC and local General Practices. We were seeing a huge amount of sick kids and very worried parents; it was physically, mentally and emotionally exhausting. I hope the vaccination helps limit or prevent a similar thing repeating with COVID.

“The kids understood that the vaccination was about protecting our family so we didn’t get much push back from them. Two were keen. We celebrated with frozen yoghurt and a swim at the beach and everyone was happy.