When watching the news or reading about the latest updates on the media, most of what we see and hear is either about COVID-19 or the new vaccine. Most recently, it has been about COVID-19 vaccination for children in the UK; despite the constant highlight on the vaccine, there are apparent conflicts in the advices from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), two leading authorities in the use of vaccines for the UK masses.
On one side, the JCVI has recommended against the use of COVID-19 vaccines for children and adolescents. As an independent body of medical experts, they exist to advise UK health departments on immunisation. The committee is not alone in its fears of implementing a vaccine with unknown long-term effects on growing children who, throughout the pandemic, have proven to be significantly more resilient than their adult counterparts. However, the MHRA has moved to approve and implement a COVID-19 vaccine rollout through a school-administered vaccination program for those above 12 years of age.
As parents, the task to vaccinate our children may not be an easy one to follow.
When the vaccines were made available for adults, the choice was made simple. Despite its emergency approval, the vaccine was quickly distributed across the country. Through mass vaccination programs, people were supposedly getting themselves protected. However, the message was clear: we need to build herd immunity. It became each person’s responsibility to protect themselves and the community.
But, even with nearly 90% of the adult population becoming fully vaccinated, there has still been a third wave of COVID-19 cases. This year, daily cases are matching or even surpassing the numbers from before vaccines were given. In response, they are now giving booster shots to fortify people’s immunity.
The benefit of being vaccinated is that it should help the body build immunity against the disease, create antibodies, improve your immune response, and effectively provide you with the protection you need. With the recent overwhelming cases of COVID-19, there have been several “breakthrough” cases that have brought the vaccine’s efficacy into question.
Many medical professionals have advocated to pause the vaccine rollout to minors so people can properly assess the benefits and the risks of the vaccines.
Vaccination For Children and Adolescents
Through the recent vaccine rollout, children as young as 12 years old will be receiving their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. While parental consent will be required, health professionals may administer a Gillick Competency test to determine whether a child can decide to get the vaccine even without parental consent.
Critical medical decisions, such as the choice of taking an experimental vaccine, is a parental right and responsibility. However, kids may now have an opportunity to make their own decisions regarding this matter.
Parents can still uphold their parental authority by informing and guiding their children. It is important that you let the school know of your position with regard to vaccination. But it is even more critical that you consider the risks of the vaccine itself against the risk of the disease before coming to any preformed conclusions.
By analysing the benefit, cost, and risk of child vaccination, several recommendations from medical professionals and experts in the industry have advised against the immunisation of children, adolescents, and young adults. Dr. Ros Jones, a retired pediatrican and representative of the Health Advisory and Recovery Team (HART), has shared concern over the ethics of vaccinating children who are at low risk for COVID-19 when the potential late-onset effects from the vaccines have not been ruled out and could take an indefinite amount of time to become evident.
Potential Risk of the Vaccine
As a vaccine that has only been approved for emergency use, they have only undergone the minimum required clinical testing for approval. While clinical trials have proven that it is effective in building immunity against SARS-CoV-2, there have also been several cases of vaccinated people suffering from an array of side effects, ranging from minimal to critical.
Following their recent vaccine rollout for adolescents in the US, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory groups reviewed cases of myocarditis and pericarditis in adolescents and young adults after vaccination. They found that this inflammation of the heart can be linked to the COVID-19 vaccines.
COVID-19 Risk in Children
The disease risk for those under 20 is almost insignificant, with more children and adolescents recovering and experiencing minimal symptoms than becoming severely ill or dying from the disease.
A review of child mortality in England during the COVID-19 pandemic has found that there has been no significant increase in child deaths during the pandemic. When comparing all-cause mortality and death from COVID-19 in children and adolescents below 18 years old, less than 0.3% of the child deaths during the pandemic were due to COVID-19.
For children, the risk of being admitted to the ICU due to COVID-19 is 1 in 50,000.
The risk of a child dying from COVID-19 is 1 in 2 million.
For adults, seniors, and those with co-morbidities, the risk associated with COVID-19 has been shown to be extremely high. The risk of COVID-19 has led to WHO issuing a global pandemic where countries have implemented lockdown, social distancing measures, and several other restrictions to prevent the further spread of the disease.
While the adult mortality rate of COVID-19 is high enough to warrant the emergency approval of a vaccine to promote herd immunity, the child mortality rate of COVID-19 is significantly lower. Coupled with the observed risks of the vaccine and a potential need for regular booster shots, the scale weighing the benefits and the risks of the vaccine should now guide you in the choices you make for the health and safety of your children.
