Covid vaccines and kids

[malificent7]

Posting here for traffic. Is it really necessary to get kids vaccinated? I am not anti vaxxer and have been double jabbed.
If kids don't react badly to covid and if teachers etc are double jabbed why the push to get kids vaccinated?
Dd has had all her jabs including hpv but im not keen if unnecessary.
I also don't like the way anti vaxxers are targeting schools atm.

"We've never had so much safety data for a vaccine as we have for this one."

This is SO incorrect.

@ASEAskeptic

Well it does badly affect some children; there were kids and teens in hospital where I am. It doesn't badly affect most children.

So in those cases the benefits might well outweigh the harm. Many vulnerable children have already been vaccinated - DDs friend had hers some months ago. But healthy children are not at risk from the virus. If they do catch it, as many have done already, they will then gain natural immunity. Given how rife it was in schools many have probably had it without realising. An antibody or immunity test should be offered so we can check whether a vaccine is even needed.

This is SO incorrect

It SO isn't.

I would definitely support an antibody/immunity test to see whether teens already have immunity before deciding about vaccinations. (Although I can also see from a public health perspective it would be tieing up resources that could be being applied to administering a vaccine)

[quote Takingabreakagain]@SoupDragon
Doesn't matter if it's a pandemic if the virus causing the pandemic doesn't badly affect children why should they need to be vaccinated?[/quote]
You've missed my point.

“The vaccine does stop people getting covid, that's literally what a vaccine does.”

No, that’s what an immunisation does. The vaccine is not an immunisation. Symptoms are reduced and transmission risk is lower that’s all.

Ooooh, I used the wrong teem and yet it was still clear what point I was making. Well done you though, you win today's semantics award.

@Clocktopus it's not a out using the wrong term. You were saying the vaccine would stop people getting the virus - it doesn't matter what it's called this vaccine doesn't do that.

It’s an offer not a comment which was made very clear.

I think it’s right that, bearing in mind the medical assessment of risks and benefits, it’s being offered to all teens to make their own choice in consultation with their parents.

We aren’t forcing it on babies or anything!

Lots of threads asking about this in the Covid topic and lots of interesting insights and links to reputable data.
People keep talking about the JCVI recommendation- the JCVI is like (imagine) a working party of scientists, economists, psychologists etc. They present initial findings to the CMO who then decide, on the basis of those findings whether to follow that advice or not.
On a purely medical basis, the JCVI said there was no need to vaccinate children- which we already know, children, by and large, if they get Covid, get it mildly etc.
The CMO and the govt study wider aspects, if children get Covid, what happens to schools? If schools close, what happens to next year's A' level students? If universities are online, what happens to fees? If children pass on the virus to their parents will WFH become mandatory, if it does, what happens to city centres. Etc. A much more long term approach.
So, the CMO decided vaccines would be appropriate.

You were saying the vaccine would stop people getting the virus - it doesn't matter what it's called this vaccine doesn't do that.

It prevents vaccinated people from catching covid. It's not 100% effective because no vaccine is (which I also said in my original post) however it does offer protection from contracting covid, from being seriously unwell with covid, and from death due to covid.

Ok I'll bite. Its because-
Although most children are fine with covid, a very small proportion do become very ill. Like with chicken pox etc which a lot of countries vaccinate against
Because children can still get long covid and there is no cure for this
Because if they do get covid which is pretty inevitable its 10 days isolating and you can avoid this

Because the more people that have the vaccine the less chance of mutations and new variations leading to more lockdowns etc
Because lots of children will still be exposed to vulnerable family members eg grandparents. A 90 year old vaccinated person still has a relatively high risk of being hospitalised (roughly the same as a 70 year old vaccinated person)

You can't say your dd has had the HPV vaccine but then you're unsure about the Covid one as part of your argument. HPV is highly unlikely to cause your dd any major problems in life, but you've had her vaccinated against it. Why? In case she gets cancer? Chances are she won't. In case she passes it on to someone else? Seeing the similarities between the two vaccines here?

@DrinkFeckArseBrick good summary