Exemptions from covid vaccination mandates either due to prior infection, pre-existing medical conditions or severe adverse reactions, have been granted & recognised in other countries. In New Zealand however, immunity due to prior infection is not recognised and it is now clear that neither pre-existing serious medical conditions nor severe adverse reactions are acknowledged as sufficient to obtain a medication exemption.

NZ enacted the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Required Testing and Vaccinations) Amendment Order 2021 in November last year, which removed the ability for qualified medical personnel such as GPs and medical specialists to grant medical exemptions from covid vaccination mandates. Instead that power resides only in the hands of the Director General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield and an advisory panel. The Temporary Medical Exemptions panel includes medical and nurse practitioners and a Māori health leader, which will consult with external experts if required. Further, any medical exemption granted is only temporary and valid for 6 months.

The NZ Ministry of Health website states that:

• Exemptions will be limited to situations where a suitable alternative to the COVID-19 vaccine is not readily available for the individual.
• Exemptions will be for a specified time, reflecting, for example, recovery from clinical conditions or the availability of alternate vaccines.
• It is likely that most people who are not medically exempt can be safely vaccinated, with some requiring extra precautions.

The Daily Examiner is aware of numerous people who have applied for medical exemptions following diagnoses of myocarditis, pericarditis or severe anaphylaxis, only to be refused and told to return for another injection to be administered in a hospital. In all cases, a standard form letter such as the one shown here is what is received.

Te Kere Davey

The Daily Examiner has previously reported on the case of Te Kere, who was diagnosed with pericarditis at Hawera Hospital. At that time, he was recommended by medical staff at the hospital that he should return for his 2nd injection at the hospital, as he was considered to be at significant risk of a serious adverse reaction.

A month on from his diagnosis (mid-December), he was still suffering from daily heartburn sensations and a simple walk around the block of his home would cause his heart to beat so hard that it “feels like it’s beating outside my chest“. 2 months from his diagnosis (mid-January), he is still experiencing chest pains and heart palpitations. A walk around the block leaves him feeling out-of-breath. For the usually fit cyclist, this has been devastating.

Te Kere’s GP had applied for a medical exemption on his behalf, certain that one would be granted. When the refusal letter arrived, Te Kere’s GP was sufficiently shocked to email the Ministry of Health to query the decision and request the reasons for the refusal. He has yet to receive a reply, nor has Te Kere been seen by a cardiologist.

On the same day that Te Kere received his refusal letter in mid-December, the Ministry of Health wrote a letter to GPs and other medical practitioners to warn of the symptoms of myocarditis in recipients of the covid vaccinations.

Shane*

In his mid-40s, Shane had been moderately active with a sedentary job and no previous health issues. He had decided to have his first covid vaccination the week the Auckland region lockdown began in August, ahead of any workplace mandate as he anticipated that one would be imposed even on contract staff.

Immediately afterwards, he experienced shortness of breath, felt light-headed but dismissed his symptoms as possibly psychosomatic. He felt unwell for the rest of the day and developed chest pains the next day. Sufficiently concerned to call Healthline on the third day, he was informed by the nurse that his symptoms were “unusual” and that he was overreacting but that he should go to the hospital emergency department if he was still unwell. As his chest pains subsided later that evening, Shane did not take things further.

For the next 3 months, Shane endured numbness in his limbs and extremities, occasional chest pains and shortness of breath, all of which he again dismissed as not being sufficiently serious to warrant medical attention. Then one Saturday in November at the beach with family, a short 20-30m swim left him suddenly out of breath, light-headed with tightness in his chest. His symptoms eventually subsided but he saw his GP and had an ECG done the following Wednesday, which was normal. The following Saturday (a week after his beach visit), Shane suddenly experienced severe shortness of breath, nausea and disorientation, upon which an ambulance was summoned to take him to Auckland’s North Shore Hospital. There, he was given drops under his tongue (likely nitroglycerin or GTN, commonly administered as a vasodilator) which made him feel better after 40 minutes.

He had an X-ray at the hospital, a stress test the following Wednesday overseen by a cardiologist, an ECG and even an MRI  in early January to check for myocarditis, all of which were normal. His cardiologist is baffled by his symptoms and has offered no theory for his ongoing chest pains. To date, Shane has paid out over $1,200 for his specialist visits, without any diagnosis for his condition. His cardiologist has told him that she is “very very pro vax“. She is unwilling to apply for an exemption on his behalf. Shane continues to suffer episodes of chest pain and heart palpitations.

 

Gemma Stratford

A mother of 3 special-needs children, Gemma has been mandated to be vaccinated to continue to receive Government funding aid to care for her children. This mandate is contained in an amendment to the COVID-19 Public Health Response (Vaccinations) Order 2021 which was introduced on 6 November 2021.

On that date, the definition of a care and support worker changed materially to capture people in Gemma’s situation, from:

“care and support worker means a person employed or engaged to carry out work that includes going to the home or place of residence of another person (not being the home or place of residence of a family member) to provide care and support services”

to:

“care and support worker means a person employed or engaged to provide care and support services within a home or place of residence”

Without being fully vaccinated, Gemma would be unable to receive any funding support from the Government to care for her children. The complication in Gemma’s situation is that she is severely allergic to sucrose, a common stabiliser used in many supplements and in the Pfizer covid vaccine in particular. Pfizer’s instructions contained in its product package insert state:

 

Description (11) of the ingredients shows that each dose of the vaccine contains 6mg of sucrose:

Despite her documented allergy to sucrose, Gemma was refused a medical exemption. Following a meeting with a “high risk team” at her local hospital, she underwent an injection on 1 December in a “high risk clinic” where only one vaccination is administered each day. She was watched over by 6 nurses, 4 of whom watched her at all times including during the use of the toilet.

5 minutes after receiving the injection, Gemma went into anaphylaxis and was treated with epinephrine (adrenaline). 20 minutes later, she went into anaphylaxis again and was treated with more adrenaline and steroids.

Since then, Gemma has been enduring upwards of 10 seizures daily. The Daily Examiner notes that without a medical exemption and without being fully vaccinated (by Government definition), she will no longer be eligible for funding to care for her children.

 

 

 

*Not his real name