'We need to start preparing for a world in which SARS-CoV2 will be endemic circulating for decades or longer. Beyond 6 mos after vaccination, the risk of side effects from a COVID vaccine is essentially zero. The benefits for my child will be substantial'
Students in Wendy Verrall's second grade class make their hand into a smile to show they are happy, since their mouths are covered, during the first day of class at Tustin Ranch Elementary School in Tustin, CA on Wednesday, August 11, 2021. Credit - Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group-Orange County Register
Waiting to vaccinate all children would be a mistake. Based on the data we have, the right answer is clear: the CDC should recommend that all kids ages five to eleven should have be vaccinated as quickly as possible. A common source of confusion, sewn largely by COVID-19 minimizers, is around whether we should be vaccinating kids because children are less likely to get sick than adults. This is true—but also not the point. The real question is how the risk of COVID in kids compares to other risks children face. Here, theis compelling: COVID-19 was the sixth-leading cause of death among children ages five to eleven in 2020 and overall, has led to nearly 700 deaths among children.
Vaccine-induced myocarditis is quite different. First, it is very rare. In fact, we know that the risk of getting myocarditis from COVID among 12- to 17-year-olds, for whom we have the best data, is about 1 per ten thousand children vaccinated. The side-effect occurs more often in boys, as often as 17 per 100,000 boys vaccinated. We don’t know why this difference exists, though there may be a role for the hormone testosterone.