Children aged 5-11 are now eligible for the Covid vaccine, and the first week and a half of the immunisation programme has seen strong demand. But not all children will be jumping at the chance - so what if your child is scared of needles or feeling anxious about vaccine? Kathryn gets some tips from Dr Jin Russell, a community and developmental paediatrician at Starship Hospital, about how to best support your child.

New Zealand children aged 5-11 are now eligible for the Covid vaccine, and the immunisation programme has seen strong demand in its first days.

But not all children will be jumping at the chance, so what if your child is scared of needles or feeling anxious about the vaccine?

It's important to have a plan and talk to your child before they get vaccinated, says a paediatrician at Auckland's Star Ship Hospital.

It's best to clearly tell your child why they're getting the vaccine and what to expect when they get to a vaccination centre, says Dr Jin Russell, a community and developmental paediatrician at Starship Hospital.

The overall background noise around the Covid-19 virus is disconcerting for them, she says.

"It really depends on the sorts of conversations that are being heard at home. Some are very good at picking up the temperature at home. Something that I always say to parents is children regulate their emotions alongside you. So, stay calm when you're talking to children. I like to talk to my boys in a matter-of-fact way and just use really simple descriptions."

Giving your child clear, simple information and explaining the benefits of the vaccine will help them get to grips with the occasion.

"It's really important to be led by the child," she says. "I think all children deserve a really clear and simple explanation of why we're getting vaccinated. I tell me boys we're vaccinating to protect you from getting sick so that if you did manage to catch Omicron it would just be like a cold.

"I also say that it's important to protect our communities and be able to stay at school. So, they need a simple explanation and older children might want more detail and there are nice resources at the kidshealth.org.nz website.

The paediatric dose of the vaccine is a third of the adult dose and involves two vaccinations given eight weeks apart.

For children who are medically vulnerable, have immuno-suppression for example, Russell says it would be reasonable to think about pushing the second dose forwards to three weeks.

The reason the doses are smaller for children, she says, is because children have much stronger and more responsive immune systems…

Go to this episode on rnz.co.nz for more details