Parents need answers before kids get jabbed

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/11/2021 (1496 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

IF we think parents can be persuaded to put the greater good of the community ahead of the personal good of their children, we should ask elementary school teachers. They will smile at our naiveté.

Teachers know from countless parent-teacher interviews that parents are compulsively fixated on the welfare of their offspring. Teachers can talk about what’s best for the class as a whole, outline the latest trends in education theory, and explain at length the mission statement of the school, but parents soon cut to the chase: “Is it best for my child?”

Parents, at least the good parents, are governed by a primal urge to guide their children safely through the dangers of the outside world. It’s this passion that motivates parents to sacrifice the considerable time, energy and money required to raise kids responsibly.

This tunnel vision of parents, which teachers know so well, will likely become a critical factor in Manitoba’s next stage of COVID-19 immunization as this province moves to vaccinate children under 12.

The controversy about vaccinating children against COVID-19 is already underway in places including the United States, where children were rolling up their sleeves this week after approval from the necessary governing bodies in that country.

Canada is expected to soon follow the U.S. Health Canada is current studying an application from drug-maker Pfizer to approve its vaccine for children aged five to 11, and then it has to get a thumb’s-up from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization.

Dr. Joss Reimer, medical lead on Manitoba’s vaccine implementation task force, has said her team is preparing to immunize children in that young age range, perhaps by December.

Manitoba’s medical teams may soon be good to go, but many parents will have doubts about whether they should let a needle anywhere near the tender arms of their little darlings.

The public conversation about this contentious issue typically begins with health officials recommending children get jabbed because the spread of COVID-19 can best be curtailed by immunizing as many people as possible. Such reasoning is sound. Children are as likely as adults to carry COVID-19 to others. They can bring the virus home from school to their family members, including grandparents and people who already have health problems.

But that argument doesn’t convince all parents. A poll released Oct. 18 by the non-profit Angus Reid Institute showed only 53 per cent of Manitoba/Saskatchewan parents will inoculate their children aged five to 11 against COVID-19 as soon as it’s available. There are an estimated 125,207 Manitoba children in that age category, so the survey means 58,847 eligible Manitoba children will not immediately get the jab.

It’s not that parents opposed to vaxxing their children don’t understand the benefits. They know widespread community immunization will increase the chances of letting their children resume a normal childhood, instead of COVID-19 testing and quarantining of their entire household every time a child gets a sore throat and runny nose. They’re likely fed up with raising children in an environment poisoned by fear of an invisible killer virus.

But, as resolute guardians of their child’s safety, parents have questions.

Why should their child get vaccinated when everyone knows children don’t get as sick as adults from COVID-19? The question is legitimate. Manitoba statistics show that, although children less than 12 now make up about one-third of COVID-19 cases in this province, no children of that age needed admittance to the intensive care units in October.

How thoroughly has the vaccine been tested on children? What possible side effects may their child experience from the vaccine itself?

If children are immunized, are they less likely to get “long-haul effects” that can afflict even mild cases with symptoms such as memory loss, depression and fatigue?

It will be up to Manitoba health officials to answer such questions clearly and often, to debunk untruths from dodgy internet sources, and perhaps enlist the help of family doctors, teachers, clergy and other community leaders who have already build a bond of trust with parents.

When health officials argue all Manitobans will benefit if children get immunized, this reasoning will fall on deaf ears for many parents.

The greater-good argument would seem to parents like they’re being asked to risk their children to protect other people. Might as well try to separate a mother bear from her cubs.

carl.degurse@freepress.mb.ca

Carl DeGurse is a member of the Free Press editorial board.