Chief Executive’s Office
Level 12, Building 01
Auckland City Hospital
P O Box 92189
Auckland 1142
(09) 630-9943 ext 22342
Fax: 375 3341
[email address]
4 April 2022
Chuck Schooner
By email
[FYI request #17342 email]
Dear Chuck
Thank you for your OIA request, transferred to us by the Ministry of Health, for information on:
1. When did MIS-C get added to the Starship website? It wasn't on the website when I
submitted the initial request.
2. Under whose instruction did it happen? Please provide al information, briefings, data, names
involved in and the evidence that shows MIS-C is caused by Covid-19?
3. I specifical y want to know who was involved in adding this to the website when it previously
wasn't there when I made the initial request.
4. What papers do you have to support this?
Response
1. When did MIS-C get added to the Starship website? It wasn't on the website when I
submitted the initial request.
7 September 2021.
2. Under whose instruction did it happen? Please provide al information, briefings, data, names
involved in and the evidence that shows MIS-C is caused by Covid-19?
2.1 Under whose instruction did it happen?
Drs Genevieve Ostring, Amanda Taylor, Gabrielle Nuthall and Greg Williams gave this
instruction col ectively.
2.2 Please provide al information, briefings, data, names involved in and the evidence that
shows MIS-C is caused by Covid-19?
There were no briefings involved in this and we are refusing this part of your request because
the information requested does not exist. We do so citing s. 18 (e) Official Information Act.
The names involved are those listed above, as the approving clinicians.
The data used to assemble this clinical evidence is data gathered by the clinicians who authored
the papers listed below at 4. As such it is information that Auckland DHB does not hold.
Welcome Haere Mai | Respect Manaaki | Together Tūhono | Aim High Angamua
adhb.govt.nz
We are refusing this part of your request because Auckland DHB does not hold this information
and we have no grounds for believing it is held by any other department or agency of
government. We do so citing s. 18 (g) of the Official Information Act.
For clarity, the guideline on the Starship Child Health website and thus Auckland DHB do not
make comment on causation but recognise an association between MIS-C and COVID-19.
The guideline states:
“COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) is associated with a rare, delayed multi-system hyper-inflammatory
response known as either PIMS-TS (Paediatric inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome temporally
associated with SARS-CoV-2) or MIS-C (Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children).”
3. I specifical y want to know who was involved in adding this to the website when it previously
wasn't there when I made the initial request.
Drs Genevieve Ostring, Amanda Taylor, Gabrielle Nuthall and Greg Williams.
4. What papers do you have to support this?
4.1 Whittaker E, Bamford A, Kenny J, Kaforou M, Jones CE, Shah P, et al. Clinical Characteristics
of 58 Children With a Pediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome Temporally Associated
With SARS-CoV-2. JAMA. 2020. Epub 2020/06/09. doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.10369. PubMed
PMID: 32511692; PubMed Central PMCID: PMCPMC7281356
4.2 Henderson L, Canna S, Friedman K, Gorelik M, Lapidus S, Bassiri H, et al. American College
of Rheumatology Clinical Guidance for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children
Associated With SARS-CoV-2 and Hyperinflammation in Pediatric COVID-19: Version 2.
Arthritis & Rheum. 2020 ;73(4)
4.3 Feldstein LR, Rose EB, Horwitz SM, Collins JP, Newhams MM, Son MBF, et al. Multisystem
Inflammatory Syndrome in U.S. Children and Adolescents. N Engl J Med. 2020;383(4):334-
46. Epub 2020/07/01. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa2021680. PubMed PMID: 32598831; PubMed
Central PMCID: PMCPMC7346765.]
4.4 McArdle A, Vito O, Patel H, Seaby E, Shah P, Wilson C et al. Treatment of Multisystem
Inflammatory Syndrome in Children. N Engl J Med. 2021: 385 (1): 11-22
4.5 Henderson L, Canna S, Friedman K, Gorelik M, Lapidus S, Bassiri H, et al. American College
of Rheumatology Clinical Guidance for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children
Associated With SARS-CoV-2 and Hyperinflammation in Pediatric COVID-19: Version 3.
Arthritis & Rheum. 2021
You are entitled to seek a review of Auckland DHB’s response by the Ombudsman under section 28(3) of
the Official Information Act. Information about how to make a complaint is available at
www.ombudsman.govt.nz or Freephone 0800 802 602.
Please note that this response, or an edited version of this response, may be published on the Auckland
DHB website.
Yours sincerely,
Ailsa Claire OBE
Chief Executive
Document Outline
