LIKE hundreds of people across Mildura, our family has been struck down with COVID-19 in recent weeks.
In fact, we had a household full of it, with three families all under the one roof for a New Year’s party that left us all with an unexpected hangover that lingered into this week.
It missed no-one, infecting six adults and all seven children.
They weren’t lying about it being highly transmissible.
Fortunately, though, all of us adults were fully vaccinated and rode out the virus like we would any cold or flu – feeling crappy, but never close to sick enough to call a doctor, let alone visit hospital.
That, of course, is a key reason why vaccinations are so important for not only our own health, but to protect our health services.
While our health services are currently stressed, it must still be remembered that the percentage of those contracting the Omicron variant (assuming that is what we had) compared to those ending up in hospital is minimal, and should give us the confidence to keep going about our daily lives, albeit in a safe and sensible manner.
The same must also apply for our children.
I can only speak for our own experience, but our children all bounced back very quickly after recording positive tests. They had minor symptoms, requiring only a bit of kids Nurofen to keep down their temperatures before they were back playing with their cousins.
That is not to downplay the seriousness of the virus, only to relay an experience that is common for a very high percentage of children.
This week, the Victorian Government ruled out the possibility of a return to remote learning or a delay to the start of the school year.
“No one is talking about remote learning,” Deputy Premier James Merlino said this week.
“We made a commitment to the people of Victoria: get vaccinated, and then we can move beyond remote learning.
“There’s no guarantees, we don’t know what’s around the corner, but we support the national framework for getting students back to school for the start of school — day one, term one.”
As a parent, that is heartening news.
There are only so many cancelled holidays, trips, school days and parties that our kids should have to suffer, particularly when they are in such a low risk category. The teachers are double vaccinated, perhaps with a booster by now, so they are as protected as we all can be against a virus that is well and truly out there.
This week also marked the beginning of the rollout to vaccinate children aged between 5-11 ahead of the new school year. Many in regional Victoria will struggle to achieve the jabs in time amid staff shortages and supply issues.
But should we really be panicked by that?
We don’t need childhood vaccinations to become another divisive and political issue in our community, particularly given how low risk the virus is for children. Pressure or judgment on parents who have been stressed for two years will help no-one, no matter what choice they make for their children.
On a personal level, our kids have all had the virus now, along with thousands of other young Victorians, so is a vaccine necessary for them right now? Parents should have the right to make that call.
Most kids who catch COVID-19 will move on and forget about it.
Now, wouldn’t that be nice?
