With the first COVID-19 vaccines being administered to younger children this week, parents have a calculation to make.
Which do they consider more risky, the shot or the virus?
Hopefully they will overwhelmingly decide that their child, their household and their community are safer with vaccination than without.
The Pfizer vaccine, the first to get approval for its child-sized dose for ages 5 to 11, has been shown in clinical trials to be more than 90% effective in preventing infections that can either lead to serious illness or make the virus more transmissible.
Although it’s true that hospitalizations and deaths of children from COVID-19 are still much more rare than that of adults, more children have gotten deathly ill from the virus since the arrival of the delta variant. What’s of equal concern is that, as the strains of the coronavirus have mutated, the more contagious children have become.
Vaccination of children accomplishes two important objectives. It reduces the odds they will get seriously ill if they contract the virus. It also reduces the odds they will transmit the disease to their teachers or to older relatives, who because of their age or underlying health conditions might be the most susceptible to life-threatening complications.
Whichever motivation parents find the most compelling — concern for their child or concern for others — it points to one course of action: vaccinate.
- The Greenwood Commonwealth
