Anyones teen refusing the vaccine?

[teensvacs]

My 16 year old DS is refusing to have the vaccine. I am disappointed. Anyone elses?

Why is he refusing?

Mine aren't. One of their friends was going to but they have changed their minds.

I mean mine aren't refusing' they are having the jab!

Mine has hers yesterday - but her boyfriend refused. The staff at the walk in tried to encourage him but he wouldn’t budge ;(

Why are you disappointed? Because you feel he’s not made an informed decision or because he is not doing what you expect? If he has weighed up the options and genuinely believes that this in his best interests not to have then I wouldn’t be disappointed.

He's 16 and allowed to make his own choices. I'm not sure why you'd be disappointed, unless he's been ranting about microchips or something

I’d be disappointed too OP , of course they’re allowed to make their own decision and you have to respect that but you’re allowed to be disappointed. I think any parent whose child chooses to align themselves slightly differently on the moral compass would be lying if they said they weren’t !

That’s his choice.

Vaccinating teens isn’t about protecting them, it’s about protecting the rest of the population and some feel uncomfortable with that, especially when they know covid is more likely than not to not cause them any issues (based on current known information, that could change).

Unfortunately teens are being targeted by anti-vax propaganda. I would be worried about what he'd been reading.

@whatswithtodaytoday

Unfortunately teens are being targeted by anti-vax propaganda. I would be worried about what he'd been reading.

Definitely. It is a worry.

However it doesn’t help that the jcvi said no at first 🤷🏻‍♀️

Mine are not keen due to the risk of myocarditis. I have some sympathy. I suspect they will change their mind but I’m pleased they are considering it carefully

And I agree the JCVI said no. I think it’s not a clear decision

The NHS is shit at detecting Myocarditis in young people on a normal day and during Covid it would be even worse, so I can’t blame him. If he isn’t at risk from Covid, is healthy, then it’s fine for him to say no while he thinks about it.

It doesn't help that people don't understand that the JCVI aren't all doctors tbf and is a think tank that ponders vaccine questions then passes their opinion to the actual decision makers.

I don't know any teenager who themselves hasn't wanted the vaccine. My SIL didn't want her DD to have it, so the DD booked her own appointment. I met the mother of one of my 16 year old students yesterday who said she wouldn't let her kids have it.

Myocarditis is as rare as hen's teeth anyway, and only slightly more incidental than hen's teeth in teenage boys. Of course, the propaganda doesn't mention just how low that risk is, in the same way that MN seems to have gathered in one place the unfortunate people who all know 69 people dead from blood clots and hundreds with myocarditis.

I'd respect the wishes of my child, but as others have said, I'd make sure he was reading factual data and not the sort of cherry picked up internet stuff.

@whatswithtodaytoday

Unfortunately teens are being targeted by anti-vax propaganda. I would be worried about what he'd been reading.

This. I would just want to make sure he hadn't been coerced by misinformation into not having it.

If he's turning it down otherwise, fair enough.

I am disappointed as i am extremely vulnerable with COPD, cancer etc and whilst I am double vaccinated I would like to minimize my risks. Plus I would be the person nursing him if he got it. I know he can still get it and pass it on if vaccinated but it reduces risks and seems selfish in our situation not to vaccinate. I have tried to kindly explain how very different his life and lifestyle would be if I were ill, in hospital or dead. However I havent pushed the issue as that has reverse effect.

@Geamhradh

It doesn't help that people don't understand that the JCVI aren't all doctors tbf and is a think tank that ponders vaccine questions then passes their opinion to the actual decision makers.

I don't know any teenager who themselves hasn't wanted the vaccine. My SIL didn't want her DD to have it, so the DD booked her own appointment. I met the mother of one of my 16 year old students yesterday who said she wouldn't let her kids have it.

Myocarditis is as rare as hen's teeth anyway, and only slightly more incidental than hen's teeth in teenage boys. Of course, the propaganda doesn't mention just how low that risk is, in the same way that MN seems to have gathered in one place the unfortunate people who all know 69 people dead from blood clots and hundreds with myocarditis.

I'd respect the wishes of my child, but as others have said, I'd make sure he was reading factual data and not the sort of cherry picked up internet stuff.

The JCVI have been around since 1963. And it’s not doctors you want advising on vaccines but immunologists. They advised purely on health grounds.

The vaccine has been approved in the UK on wider than health grounds.

@teensvacs

I am disappointed as i am extremely vulnerable with COPD, cancer etc and whilst I am double vaccinated I would like to minimize my risks. Plus I would be the person nursing him if he got it. I know he can still get it and pass it on if vaccinated but it reduces risks and seems selfish in our situation not to vaccinate. I have tried to kindly explain how very different his life and lifestyle would be if I were ill, in hospital or dead. However I havent pushed the issue as that has reverse effect.

That is not an insignificant drip feed there OP.

@Iggly

That’s his choice.

Vaccinating teens isn’t about protecting them, it’s about protecting the rest of the population and some feel uncomfortable with that, especially when they know covid is more likely than not to not cause them any issues (based on current known information, that could change).

Yes. This

This is kind of how my teens felt tbh.

They’ve both had the vaccine, but they didn’t really want them and felt a bit rail roaded into it. Not by me, it was totally their decision, but the general vibe around vaccinations

Definitely not a drip feed, it was a deliberate omission as I want to see how other parents feel as DS is following his friends rather than our family situation. I want to understand how other parents feel who are not vulnerable as obviously I cant be objective about vaccines.

@teensvacs

I am disappointed as i am extremely vulnerable with COPD, cancer etc and whilst I am double vaccinated I would like to minimize my risks. Plus I would be the person nursing him if he got it. I know he can still get it and pass it on if vaccinated but it reduces risks and seems selfish in our situation not to vaccinate. I have tried to kindly explain how very different his life and lifestyle would be if I were ill, in hospital or dead. However I havent pushed the issue as that has reverse effect.

I have had a similar conversation with my Mum who is high risk too so don’t think I’m picking on you. But Ultimately, I think that because you are the one who is high risk, it is you that needs to take the actions to protect yourself. Not your DS. That means, if needed, wearing a mask / handwashing / social distancing in the house / getting boosters and flu vaccines etc. I don’t think it’s fair cornering DS into getting a vaccine when he doesn’t feel ready for it. You’ll just make him more adamanent about not wanting it.

That is interesting to hear. I am very aware that DS does not respond to pressure so we have only had one conversation so far and hence wanting to understand other parents views who are not vulnerable. All my friends claim to have a pro vaccine view but of course they know my health issues. If DS got ill it would be me to care for him so there is no way to fully protect unless I refused to do that which I wouldnt. Yes of course I have flu and pneumonia vaccines and boosters etc etc

Vaccine or not but please dont use the minute risk of mycarditis as a reason when the risk of getting mycarditis is higher from cobid than from the vaccine and is likely to impact those with a predisposition to mycarditis anyway ie those most likely to get mycarditis feom vaccine are likely ro get a worse case of it from covid. In addition it will likely be picked up quicker post vaccine as they know to look for it in teens ill after vaccine

@Iggly
Yes, (JCVI) that was my point. So many people on here have gone Mach 3 about the JCVI not recommending the vaccine for purely health reasons alone and interpreting that as a "recommending not having it because it's a Bad Thing"

@Ozanj but do you live with your high risk mum and would she have to look after you if you had covid?
Because that's the situation OP and her 16 year old are in, so unless you are similarly entwined with your mother it's not comparable.
You're in a very, very difficult position OP. I wonder if keeping distant from him, no physical contact with him, etc would actually bring it home to him more than words do. Have you been doing this up till now?