Anti-vax talk Australian parents will need to have with others to let kids play safely

Experts say Aussie parents will need to have an ‘awkward’ but necessary talk with the unvaccinated to ensure their kids can play safely.

Exclusive: Checking the vaccination status of adults who want their kids to play with yours and finding ways to deal with the unvaccinated will become an awkward but necessary social jam for parents when lockdown ends.

Children younger than 12 can’t yet be vaccinated against the virus and epidemiologists are warning the safest way to manage a child’s risk of developing Covid-19 is to keep them away from unvaccinated adults.

“Unvaccinated parents are much more a risk than unvaccinated children,” Australian National University infectious diseases expert Professor Peter Collignon said.

This is because the older a person is, the more receptors their body has for the virus and the more they are susceptible to infection and spreading it, he said.

Experts believe the new rules for planning social events for children is to limit their interaction with households with unvaccinated adults, organise play dates outdoors rather than indoors and limit the number of children and adults at social events.

“Sleep overs are probably more dangerous than a barbecue and running around in the playground and a sleep over with 10 children will be much worse than a sleep over with two children,” Professor Collignon said.

Professor Peter Collignon from the Australian National University Medical School in Canberra.

Child Psychologist Ashneeta Prasad said when trying to explain why you do not want your child mixing with unvaccinated adults “acknowledge and validate their feelings (e.g., “I understand if this is upsetting or frustrating for you”), and avoid using blaming or accusatory language”.

University of Sydney medical ethicist Dr Claire Hooker said parents should say this upfront: “I want you to know that I think it’s really important that our children maintain their friendship, and I’d like to talk about how we can do that, even when I don’t feel safe having someone who isn’t vaccinated in my house.”

“Work out what situations you are comfortable with, and be very specific about these, such as outside only, or in a well ventilated space. Thank the other parents for their understanding of your safety preferences,” Dr Hooker said.

It was rare for children to catch the original Wuhan version of Covid but infection rates in kids have been much higher with the highly infectious Delta variant.

The Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI) found that as of September 5, 22 per cent of all Covid-19 cases in Australia were in children under the age of 19 years.

However, very few children become severely ill with the infection with only around 70 children (2.4 per cent of those infected) admitted to hospital and just five (0.2 per cent) admitted to intensive care.

MCRI lead researcher Melanie Neeland said children don’t get as sick as their parents because their innate immune cells, those that respond first when the body meets an invading infection, often cleared the virus before it took hold.

Kids fun parks and birthday entertainers say they need more clarity as states approach vaccination targets and begin reopening.

While the federal government says it will not mandate vaccines, vaccine passports will be required for anyone entering a range of venues including retail and entertainment venues in NSW and Victoria.

Fly by Fun says it needs clarity on how its children’s entertainers will enforce state government vaccine mandates. Picture: Supplied

Fly by Fun operator Isobel Hawson said the national company of children’s entertainers is awaiting state government advice on how they will enforce Covid mandates.

“How are we going to enforce this? We will have to rely on the customer or the parent to be honest. The fairy can’t stop and check every single guest,” she said.

Liam Dempsey, chief operating officer of Bounce, said the company is awaiting official advice before reopening the indoor trampoline parks.

“We are still awaiting clarification from the state government regarding the vaccination mandate for customers, particularly how it applies to children,” he said.

Mother of two Deauvanné Jarvis said while asking friends if they are vaccinated can be awkward, most parents are already havingthose discussions.

Deauvanné Jarvis with her daughter Charissa 6, and Shannon Ruddock with her daughters Maddie 11 and Abby 7. Picture: Tim Hunter.

“I think people are having these conversations in a jokey, casual way,” Ms Jarvis said.

Ms Jarvis said asking open ended questions can be a good way to gauge if someone is vaccinated without escalating to a confrontation.

Telling parents of her children’s friends that ‘it’s okay to have play dates if both adults are vaccinated” is a round-a-boutway of checking their vax status.

“It’s a really tricky conversation to have,” she said.

According to Gavin Handran QC the prospect of litigation in this area is unlikely, given this sort of negligence only bites where a person does not take reasonable steps to avoid a foreseeable risk.

Refusing a Covid shot would not alone constitute negligence because vaccinated people can still carry and transmit the virus.

However, if someone knew that he or she was Covid positive and attended the party anyway, then the risk of infection could arguably have been foreseeable and legal action could follow if they infected and hospitalised someone.

The carrier could be liable for medical bills, lost wages and any care and assistance which is needed, among other things, he said.

Originally published as Anti-vax talk Australian parents will need to have with others to let kids play safely