Should Texans Get Their Kids Vaccinated?

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

In May 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advised everyone aged 12 and up to get a COVID-19 vaccination to help protect against COVID-19.

The FDA also expanded the emergency use authorization for the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine to include children aged 12 to 15. Texans must decide whether or not to have their children vaccinated.

Many fear the vaccine and its effects which is understandable since this is the first time they and the whole world encountered this kind of pandemic.

The main worry is that the vaccine might cause permanent and irreversible damage to their children. The Children’s Health held a virtual town hall to clarify to parents why their children must be vaccinated, how safe is the vaccine, and to expose the falseness of some commonly circulated misinformation about the vaccine

Is the Pfizer Vaccine Safe For Kids?

The chief of infectious diseases at Children’s Health gave a resoundingly affirmative answer that the Pfizer vaccine is safe for children. It is said to be safe because scientists have a lot of knowledge about how the vaccine works.

They claimed that as of May 12, approximately 141 million Pfizer vaccine doses had been administered in the United States to people aged 16 and older, providing them with a wealth of information about this vaccine.

Furthermore, the vaccine is not contagious, so children cannot contract COVID-19 from it.

As to rumors that it causes infertility, the vaccine was approved last December so it is impossible to know if the vaccine can cause infertility just after a month.

Why Should Kids Get Vaccinated?

Children should receive the vaccine because they can become infected with the virus. It was discovered that those under the age of 18 accounted for one out of every five people infected with the virus.

Despite the fact that they are less affected, statistics show that since the pandemic began on May 20, more than 3.9 children have tested positive for COVID-19, accounting for 14.1 percent of the total accumulated cases.

COVID-19 has hospitalized over 16,000 children and killed over 300, ranking it among the top ten causes of death in children in the United States.

It is also important to have your kids vaccinated to help bring down the number of cases in your community. Graphs have shown that the number of COVID-19 cases declined in places due to vaccination efforts.

Are There Any Risks for Children?

The main concern of parents is about the possible risks for their children. Concerns have been raised that the vaccine may cause myocarditis or inflammation of the heart muscle.

However, the number of these cases is extremely small, and researchers do not even know if there is a link between the vaccine and myocarditis. Furthermore, the vaccine's risk-benefit ratio far outweighs the risk.

Even if your child had COVID-19, he or she should still be vaccinated because the vaccine is more effective than the natural immunity gained from catching COVID-19.

If Texans decide to have their children vaccinated, the Children's Health Specialty Center Dallas and Specialty Center 1 on the Children's Health Plano campus will administer it.

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