Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Covid

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Original poster

Would you let your child have the vaccine if it was available tomorrow?

130 replies

WhoAteAllTheMincePiez · 31/12/2020 01:36

Having a chat with DH tonight. He’d be up for the vaccine if it was available tomorrow and wouldn’t mind our children (1 and 5) having it.
I’m the opposite. I wouldn’t want my children to have it.

I’m not an anti-vaxxer, I do believe this is very real, but I’m not comfortable or assured of what the long term side effects may be. I think back to the virginal mesh, formaldehyde etc. All safe until later on when it was found it wasn’t. I know you can model it and project t, but a projection, for me at least, isn’t time served.

Would you let your child have the vaccine if it was available tomorrow?

OP posts:
ofwarren · 31/12/2020 09:00

Yes I would.
My 6 year old is shielded and cannot have it. God knows what's going to happen if they find out you can still pass on covid after being vaccinated.
He hasn't been to school since march and hardly leaves the house, except for a walk.

FinallyHere · 31/12/2020 09:00

If ... the vaccine had been proved to reduce transmission

I have heard nothing about the vaccine reducing transmission, only that it reduces the severity of the disease.

BatleyTownswomensGuild · 31/12/2020 09:03

Once it's licensed for children then yes. But not until then.

Willyoulookatthefaceofit · 31/12/2020 09:06

Yes. Teenage children. Vaccine or full blown disease seems fairly easy call for this age group.

Hotpinkangel19 · 31/12/2020 09:13

I wouldn't have it and I wouldn't give it to my children.

Imaginetoday · 31/12/2020 09:14

[quote WhoAteAllTheMincePiez]@Finfintytint no, I agree with vaccines and think it’s a great step forward. However, I appreciate that due to the nature of what we are facing there isn’t the luxury of time to
see any really happens. Also another poster mentioned something quite helpful re the reason other studies take a long time to get through.

Both children fully vaccinated for everything else.[/quote]
The issue is not about the amount of time studies extend for but the number of people studied. Few clinical trials study the same people over extended time, they are longer studies as it takes a long time to find and test a sufficient cohort of people.
These vaccine had the advantage of a very large cohort of volunteers stepping up at same time. That was because of the publicity, fear of disease, funding and the fact that the disease is very infectious and therefore loads of folks being exposed simultaneously
Focus your risk assessments on how many people vaccines have been tested on NOT the time

GCAcademic · 31/12/2020 09:15

Pharma will push all money making medicine as safe until found out otherwise and by that time they have made their millions with enough to spare to cover lawsuits

AstraZenenca have priced the vaccine at a level which will not make them a profit.

ofwarren · 31/12/2020 09:16

@HazeyJannel
@HazeyJannell
It looks like they stopped the trial on kids
uk.mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUKKBN28O1JS
I've no idea what's going to happen with children like ours.

MellowYellow101 · 31/12/2020 09:17

@MiniMaxi

For everyone saying “I wouldn’t have it because I’m not vulnerable”, have you heard of “public health benefits”? Hmm

I would have it myself. I would not have it given to my son unless proper trials in children had been done and it was approved for use.

Public health benefit? So you're expecting(or at least urging) people to gave something pumped into their body which was designed in a lab within the space of a few months, bypassing normal practices, to appease the public desire of hitting numbers to reduce the rate of infection?

What public health benefit does it bring? It is meant to suppress the symptoms of Covid, not stop transmission so your argument is a bit pointless. It won't have a public health benefit, only a benefit to an individual who MAY contract covid.

ofwarren · 31/12/2020 09:17

@HazeyJanell
Sorry, I spelled your name wrong

trulydelicious · 31/12/2020 09:24

@Imaginetoday

Focus your risk assessments on how many people vaccines have been tested on NOT the time

But time is important. Some autoimmune diseases, for instance (which I'm not saying obviously will be caused by any of these vaccines, but could - as with any medication) take a long time (1-2 years) to be identified and/or diagnosed.

Also these trials are not including participants with every possible underlying health condition / taking medication that the vaccines may interact with

Imaginetoday · 31/12/2020 09:25

@haggistramp

No for the exact same reasons as yourself. Pharma will push all money making medicine as safe until found out otherwise and by that time they have made their millions with enough to spare to cover lawsuits. But money can't fix everything. And there has been enough shitty medical scandals that I wouldn't take the risk. The government hasn't given the drug companies and themselves immunity for nothing. Maybe in 10/15 years ill reconsider.
I suggest you inform yourself about clinical trials and drug approval processes. It is actually very hard for drug companies to get approval for new medicines. Many hundreds of potential medicines never make it through clinical trials for every single medicine or treatment that does. Issues like thalidomide have raised standards over many years. Controls are extremely tight. Drugs like penicillin or paracetamol are questionable over whether they could be approved based on current standards
HazeyJaneII · 31/12/2020 09:28

Thankyou for the link @ofwarren, that's the first article I've seen about children being removed from the trial. In the Summer, ds's paediatrician talked about the Oxford Vaccine and how it was the best hope for children like ds in the future.

I'm sorry you are in a similar position to us. It feels like quite a lonely place to be, when the conversations around the vaccines are (understandably), so positive and hopeful. The conversation about schools are all about them being safe and the best plave for children to be...and the narrative from so many is how people shouldn't have had to live under restrictions as the 'old and sick' are the only people vulnerable to Covid.
Let's hope for some hope in 2021!

frustrationcentral · 31/12/2020 09:30

Assuming it became available for children I'd get it for DS2 as he has a condition that puts him at risk of being immunosuppressed in the future so I'd want to give him the best protection. DS1 will be an adult next year (Shock) anyway, but if it's offered before then then I'd want to look at the research first as he has severe food allergies and I'd want to know he's safe. He's got Covid at the moment anyway so hopefully that will give him some immunity for the short term at least

Imaginetoday · 31/12/2020 09:31

[quote trulydelicious]@Imaginetoday

Focus your risk assessments on how many people vaccines have been tested on NOT the time

But time is important. Some autoimmune diseases, for instance (which I'm not saying obviously will be caused by any of these vaccines, but could - as with any medication) take a long time (1-2 years) to be identified and/or diagnosed.

Also these trials are not including participants with every possible underlying health condition / taking medication that the vaccines may interact with[/quote]
Yes, and those drug trials for where medication is needed long term will include long term follow up studies.
This is not needed for vaccines. It is not how vaccines work. They produce a short term response in the the bodies own immunity. They do not hang around in the body.
Please everyone, read at least something to explain how vaccines work on the body. They are some of the safest medicines there are as they are getting your own body to do the work of protecting you. The vaccine itself does not hang around in your body for months or years

trulydelicious · 31/12/2020 09:37

@Imaginetoday

The vaccine itself does not hang around in your body for months or years

But the effect it has had on the immune system is long term. Otherwise why have them in the first place?

Think Pandremix and narcolepsy (I know it has not been conclusively proven or disproven that it caused this autoimmune condition), the vaccine was banned.

So, it can happen. It's not common and I'm not suggesting it will happen with these Covid vaccines, but dismissing any concerns is wrong in my opinion

kowari · 31/12/2020 09:39

What about the narcolepsy with the H1N1/09 vaccine?

UsedUpUsername · 31/12/2020 09:41

@CodenameVillanelle

When it is approved for children I will let mine have it. If I was offered it I would have it. I can't imagine how people would prefer to live like we are currently living than take the potential tiny (real or imagined) risk of being vaccinated. I can only assume people who are too nervous to get the vaccine believe that they don't need to because enough other people will do it for them...
Honestly don’t agree. I think many young healthy people would be better off catching coronavirus than taking a vaccine that has had an accelerated review process. Especially children.

Those in at-risk categories would have much more benefit.

kowari · 31/12/2020 09:41

Sorry, @trulydelicious, hadn't refreshed.

kowari · 31/12/2020 09:43

I can only assume people who are too nervous to get the vaccine believe that they don't need to because enough other people will do it for them...
No, I've had Covid so I assume DS has too.

Preech · 31/12/2020 09:48

Yes, I'd let my children have the vaccine. I have a friend in Texas whose whole family, including her toddler DS and R-age DD came down with COVID over Christmas. A former colleague of mine in Glasgow is still suffering from long COVID, as is her eight year old DD, from infections they contracted back in March. A few children in the States and at least one in Britain have died of the virus. Given the rate of infection, and the fact that this virus is changing all the time, I think we've just been lucky that it hasn't harmed our children more.

The risk of the virus seems much, much greater than the risk of vaccine reaction.

Science background: I did ok at high school physics and biology, but failed high school Chem. I rely on decent layman reporting to stay educated about science. I accept that I don't thoroughly understand what I read on PubMed.

DesiderataH · 31/12/2020 09:51

It's not approved for children under 16/18 (depending on what vaccine it is). Once it has been approved, then yes, I would have had my children vaccinated.

Katjolo · 31/12/2020 09:51

No

ChristmasinJune · 31/12/2020 09:56

As long as it had been properly tested and approved for his age group then yes I would.

Imaginetoday · 31/12/2020 11:29

[quote trulydelicious]@Imaginetoday

The vaccine itself does not hang around in your body for months or years

But the effect it has had on the immune system is long term. Otherwise why have them in the first place?

Think Pandremix and narcolepsy (I know it has not been conclusively proven or disproven that it caused this autoimmune condition), the vaccine was banned.

So, it can happen. It's not common and I'm not suggesting it will happen with these Covid vaccines, but dismissing any concerns is wrong in my opinion[/quote]
I’m not dismissing Any concerns...I am asking people to take time to properly inform themselves from scientific and MHRA sites about the approval and development process. There are a lot of “soft” anti vaxxers on here saying they are not anti-vaxxers, yet making sweeping statements about evil pharmaceutical companies and testing that has somehow been inadequate compared to other vaccines.
ALL medication has side effects and benefits. That’s why we have clinical trials and a regulated industry. Paracetamol and penicillin would unlikely to be approved based on today’s standards now. Yes, there have been horrendous disasters...and regulators are always learning from those. There will be future disasters as we are always pushing the boundaries of preserving life and demand that of medical research- people want cures for cancers etc. . That is what has driven life expectancy up historically and eradicated many many diseases.

If you decide the risks of side affects outweigh the benefits that is ok...however that is not what’s happening here. No one has stated what side effects of this vaccine are and articulated clearly vs the benefits. I’m just pointing out that people on this forum should be informed on the science and processes and not base that on scaremongering, hearsay and conspiracies including evil biotech giants. Let’s have some reasoned data driven arguments as to why these vaccines are unsafe. I am engaging on the thread as I am shocked at some of the things written and a bit depressed at how many people are basing decision on emotional response and fear of unknown rather than factual information and becoming informed.

Scientist and medics are ordinary people..it’s their life’s work to make people better and improve quality of life. They aren’t sitting in rooms plotting the demise of the human race with crappy risky vaccine and rubbing their hands together over the money they make. A bit short sighted that as a business model- killing off your future customers or making your patients ill and creating a health scandal.