Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask if you would put child forward for the vaccine trial?

340 replies

coulditbeanymorerubbish · 13/02/2021 09:30

So the Oxford vaccine is now to be tested in children as young as six. Would you put your child up for for children?

Everyone calling others stupid for not wanting it can now volunteer their kids! Because, you know... you're so confident that it's perfectly safe and the right thing to do.

OP posts:
Cornettoninja · 13/02/2021 11:35

@Thislittlefinger123

I assume those saying no would then not want their children to be vaccinated a year down the line then?

No I won't, no. They're primary age so at no risk (imo).

That’s fair enough, but have you looked at the risk profile for diseases routinely vaccinated against in childhood? It’s arguable that the statistics for a child being adversely affected by rotavirus, measles, mumps, rubella, meningitis etc instead of experiencing a short illness and recovering are also really quite small.

Just for perspective.

laudete · 13/02/2021 11:36

Yes; the benefits outweigh the risks (which are minimal as the vaccine has already been extensively tested on adults).

TheAirbender · 13/02/2021 11:37

@Northpole23

Not my children, children should never be experimented on. It’s a firm no from me , they will have the choose when they are 18
How would we vaccinate for any childhood disease, if at some point, some child isn’t the first?
SamuelWhiskey · 13/02/2021 11:39

Well catching covid can certainly impact on one's fertility, whereas there's no evidence at all, theoretical or otherwise, to suggest any of the vaccines could do so.

But then as I'm pregnant and have been vaccinated I'm already one of those silly people who have used their child as a 'guinea pig'

MessAllOver · 13/02/2021 11:41

If the vaccine was approved for his age group, I would have my DS vaccinated. Not necessarily for his own benefit, because the risk to his age group is small, but to help achieve herd immunity amongst that age group and protect CEV children. But that's different from volunteering a very young child for clinical trials.

PurpleFlower1983 · 13/02/2021 11:42

The flu vaccine is changed every year to fight new strains, do you all refuse that too? What about you children? Did they have their childhood immunisations? How do you think they were initially tested? As others have said, they have been tested for safety, it’s whether or not they are effective that is in question.

DenisetheMenace · 13/02/2021 11:42

Yes, we would.

sashagabadon · 13/02/2021 11:43

Yes, my son is very keen

Hetilia · 13/02/2021 11:44

Not my children, children should never be experimented on. It’s a firm no from me , they will have the choose when they are 18

Do your children have none of their childhood vaccines then?

Happycat1212 · 13/02/2021 11:49

Absolutely not. And I will not be vaccinating my children to protect others either, not when he has little to no affect on them. Nope!

Happycat1212 · 13/02/2021 11:49

I don’t give my children the flu vaccine either, never have.

DenisetheMenace · 13/02/2021 11:50

Ismellphantoms

Yes. I was on the polio vaccine trial as a child.“

Thanks to you/your parents 😊

DenisetheMenace · 13/02/2021 11:51

Happycat1212

I don’t give my children the flu vaccine either, never have.“

We do, always have, they have asthma.

sashagabadon · 13/02/2021 11:51

I bet the Oxford team are inundated with volunteers. They’ve probably already got more than enough. I was on the adult trial and they had loads and this will be the same.

olympicsrock · 13/02/2021 11:52

Yes I would. I believe it’s a good vaccine. At the appropriate point of phase three trials I would let my child have a vaccine that I have already had myself.

m0therofdragons · 13/02/2021 11:53

Yes, if she was happy to. I’ve had 2 doses of pfizer with no reaction. I also get dc vaccinated against flu. I’ve listened to the doctors I work with and respect their opinion that it’s safe.

gallbladderpain · 13/02/2021 11:55

What would happen if the virus mutates because everyone else is vaccinated....viruses find hosts...if we have children unvaccinated and it was to mutate and become more serious in children then I bet you would all be running out to get the vaccine.
As it stands until there is mass vaccination in children to provide herd immunity there is thousands of children around this country who will be unable to come out of lockdown. They won't be able to sit in classrooms with lots of unvaccinated children. Be aware that although your child is healthy now, it takes something as simple as a virus to cause your child to be clinically vunerable.
We have been vaccinating children for years to protect the wider community and I for one am thankful to live in a country that has been able to through vaccination eradicate many serious illnesses

foxhat · 13/02/2021 11:56

Sadly I think we are caught between a rock and a hard place. To use your slightly inflammatory language OP, you can agree to your kids being a 'guinea pig' in having the vaccine or you can let them be a 'guinea pig' in possibly catching Covid with all the still-to-be clarified potential long-term risks that go with that. Yes I would let my child have the vaccine as my balancing of the risks suggests that even without the benefit to others and the potential life-long emotional impact of being a transmitter of a potentially fatal disease to someone vulnerable, I think it is less risky for them to have the vaccine than not.

SleepingStandingUp · 13/02/2021 12:00

Given his medical needs no, but I do agree with a pp that if they can give it to medically vulnerable adults and frail elderly people, then your average healthy 10 seems unlikely to have an issue with an adjusted dose.
I know there was lots of questions over its effects of fertility which would be a big consideration on children

Hetilia · 13/02/2021 12:00

if we have children unvaccinated and it was to mutate and become more serious in children then I bet you would all be running out to get the vaccine

Absolutely.

percypetulant · 13/02/2021 12:01

Yes, absolutely, where can I sign them up, please?

Happycat1212 · 13/02/2021 12:01

I assume those saying no would then not want their children to be vaccinated a year down the line then?

Nope I will not be vaccinating them against Covid at all.

gallbladderpain · 13/02/2021 12:01

@foxhat

Sadly I think we are caught between a rock and a hard place. To use your slightly inflammatory language OP, you can agree to your kids being a 'guinea pig' in having the vaccine or you can let them be a 'guinea pig' in possibly catching Covid with all the still-to-be clarified potential long-term risks that go with that. Yes I would let my child have the vaccine as my balancing of the risks suggests that even without the benefit to others and the potential life-long emotional impact of being a transmitter of a potentially fatal disease to someone vulnerable, I think it is less risky for them to have the vaccine than not.
This ! In the years to come I can see the potential for many underlying health problems manifesting in children as a result of having had covid. There is already studies taking place in various countries with increasing levels of type 1 diabetes etc in children who have had mild or asymptomatic covid infection.
SmeleanorSmellstrop · 13/02/2021 12:02

I would have it, and would allow my children to have it once it is approved for them, but I wouldn't allow them to be in the trial.

pointythings · 13/02/2021 12:02

Mine are both outside the age range, but if this had happened I would have asked one but not the other - DD1 at that age was extremely needle phobic, and we had a hard enough time getting the standard vaccinations into her without causing serious distress. DD2 was a tough cookie and I'd have consulted her about it.

They're 18 and 20 now and both have been involved in research, including a vaccine trial for DD1. As indeed have I.