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Vaccination of Children
Dec. 14th, 2020 11:36 amWhile the arrival of vaccines against Covid-19 is certainly a good news story, we now face the minefield of establishing who gets vaccinated in the first tier, second tier and beyond. There are so many things to consider. But whoever said medical ethics was simple? It's not rocket science, it's much more complex than that!
So what about children? The people involved in the clinical trials were generally from those groups least likely to become seriously ill with the virus. Children fall into that category but were excluded for other very valid reasons. They often have stronger reactions to vaccines than adults. The question of informed consent is much murkier. Children may exhibit different symptoms from those of adults, or they may be asymptomatic carriers of the virus. And yet...
We have prioritized getting children back to school, in person where possible, because we know that education is important. We also know that for younger children especially, online learning may be difficult or inappropriate. They may also need to use public transportation to get to school, and may have more trouble than adults as far as mastering protocols like mask-wearing, hand washing and physical distancing. Their parents, on the other hand, may be better positioned to work from home, depending of course on the type of work they do.
And let's not forget that some children do get very sick and even die of Covid-19, particularly if they already have fragile immune systems and/or live in poorer neighbourhoods.
If we can't immediately vaccinate children directly, we should at least prioritize vaccination of those adults who work closely with them - teachers, child care workers, school bus drivers and maintenance staff, for example.
Once a safe and reliable vaccine for children is available, it's ultimately the parents who decide when their kids will be vaccinated. A U.S. study suggests that while a majority of parents do want their children vaccinated, uptake is higher amongst older, more highly educated parents:
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2020-11-23/parents-age-key-to-whether-kids-get-vaccinated-against-covid-study-finds
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/kids-vaccine-covid-19-1.5826606
So what about children? The people involved in the clinical trials were generally from those groups least likely to become seriously ill with the virus. Children fall into that category but were excluded for other very valid reasons. They often have stronger reactions to vaccines than adults. The question of informed consent is much murkier. Children may exhibit different symptoms from those of adults, or they may be asymptomatic carriers of the virus. And yet...
We have prioritized getting children back to school, in person where possible, because we know that education is important. We also know that for younger children especially, online learning may be difficult or inappropriate. They may also need to use public transportation to get to school, and may have more trouble than adults as far as mastering protocols like mask-wearing, hand washing and physical distancing. Their parents, on the other hand, may be better positioned to work from home, depending of course on the type of work they do.
And let's not forget that some children do get very sick and even die of Covid-19, particularly if they already have fragile immune systems and/or live in poorer neighbourhoods.
If we can't immediately vaccinate children directly, we should at least prioritize vaccination of those adults who work closely with them - teachers, child care workers, school bus drivers and maintenance staff, for example.
Once a safe and reliable vaccine for children is available, it's ultimately the parents who decide when their kids will be vaccinated. A U.S. study suggests that while a majority of parents do want their children vaccinated, uptake is higher amongst older, more highly educated parents:
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2020-11-23/parents-age-key-to-whether-kids-get-vaccinated-against-covid-study-finds
https://www.cbc.ca/news/health/kids-vaccine-covid-19-1.5826606
