There Is NO EMERGENCY
The Covid -19 vaccines were launched using EUA (Emergency Use Authorization), circumventing the usual rigorous testing and approval process required by the FDA. We were in the midst of a pandemic and in emergency mode. Many people were dying and our healthcare system was overwhelmed and overburdened.
The first folks to receive the vaccines were the frontline workers and the elderly-the most vulnerable. Over the past months, eligibility age for these EUA vaccines now includes those as young as 12. And Pfizer is hopeful they’ll receive EUA to administer COVID vaccines for children as young as 6 months by September 2021.
So this is where I start scratching my head. From all the studies I’ve read, there is absolutely no reason for children under the age of 18 to get a vaccine for COVID 19 under the Emergency Use Act. There is NO emergency.
I’ve cited three reports from three well-known organizations/publications that support this premise. All 3 reports indicate that deaths for children have been extremely rare, somewhere between 0.00% and 0.03%. (Please scroll to the end of this post to see excerpts from these reports)
While some parents are clamoring for the vaccines, there are many hesitating which, in my opinion, is the better response, based on the data and what we’ve observed this past year.
With any medical procedure, including vaccines, we ALWAYS need to do a risk/benefit analysis. These vaccines are meant to reduce the severity of disease and death from COVID-19. COVID severity and death is basically non-existent for children between the ages of 0-18. Therefore the benefit is very very small, if any. Yet, the RISK is potentially enormous.
We really don’t know the short and long term risks from the vaccines for this age group or any age group for that matter. It will take years to really know. But we do know that there will be some injuries and some deaths. This is just a given (which may surprise many of you) and we’ve seen this already in the vaccinated adult population.
Many would argue that the benefits of the vaccines for older age groups and for those with underlying factors outweigh the known and unknown risks of these vaccines. Right now, I tend to support this argument for those who have not previously had COVID-19.
BUT I DO NOT think this same argument holds true for babies and children.
I am worried, concerned, and disappointed and cannot wrap my head around the push for vaccinations for children. It makes absolutely no sense. I’ve heard of no concrete benefit to them nor to others they come in contact with. So if that’s the case, who does benefit?
With Care and Hope,
Cindy
According to the Lancet: as of February 2021, the number of reported Deaths in the US from COVID-19 in children ages 0-14 has been 134. https://www.thelancet.com/action/showPdf?pii=S2352-4642%2821%2900066-3
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics -as of May 2021: In states reporting, 0.00%-0.03% of all child COVID-19 cases resulted in death. “At this time, it still appears that severe illness due to COVID-19 is rare among children. However, there is an urgent need to collect more data on longer-term impacts of the pandemic on children, including ways the virus may harm the long-term physical health of infected children, as well as its emotional and mental health effects.” https://services.aap.org/en/pages/2019-novel-coronavirus-covid-19-infections/children-and-covid-19-state-level-data-report/
According to the CDC, (which uses a higher age range for children-0-24 years) as of December 11, 2020 There has been 654 deaths recorded for this age group, with almost 60% of these occurring in the 18-24 age range. So for children 0-17 years old, there’s been 261 deaths nationwide. These numbers do not qualify for emergency measures. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/70/wr/mm7003e1.htm