Youth Vaccines: The Hope to Humanity

        Children are as likely to be infected with Covid-19 as adults and can get very sick from Covid-19. They have both short and long-term health complications from Covid-19 and can spread the virus to others, including at home and school. Children who get infected with Covid-19 can also develop serious complications like multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C), a condition where different body parts become inflamed, including the heart, lungs, kidneys, brain, skin, eyes, or gastrointestinal organs. Children with underlying medical conditions are more at risk for severe illness from Covid-19 compared with children without underlying medical conditions.

        Vaccines have been heralded as a key measure to slow down the Covid-19 pandemic’s widespread impacts and one day bring it to an end. Getting a Covid-19 vaccine can help protect children ages five years and older from getting infected with the virus. Vaccinating children can help protect family members, including siblings who are not eligible for vaccination and family members who may be at increased risk of getting very sick if they are infected. It can also help keep children from getting seriously sick even if they do get Covid-19. Vaccinating children is important to prevent these serious outcomes and to achieve herd immunity which is sufficient to slow down the emergence of dangerous variants and bring an end to the pandemic. 

         Vaccinating children ages five years and older can help keep them in school and help them safely participate in sports, playdates, and other group activities. Only vaccinated children are allowed to participate in the face-to-face classes; hence, there is a need for the children to be vaccinated in order for them to safely go back to school. Attending in-person classes is vital in the educational lives of children, especially those belonging to the age level of 5 to 11 years of age. At these ages, they are at the first level of their educational path; it is the foundation of their learning process. It is here that they develop and learn literacy and numeracy skills which are the starters to more complex and complicated learnings on the higher ladder of education. Likewise, only vaccinated children and teens are allowed on public premises for their protection and to lower the risk of infection as almost all adults of different age groups are flocking around malls and other public places. Teens are more sociable than children; they develop social skills and become emotionally mature as they mingle more often with adults. It is an avenue for them to de-stress themselves from the online/offline/module-based instruction and likewise free them from anxiety and boredom of being home-based for a long period of time due to this pandemic. But at this time, they are only allowed to go out, have fun and participate in social gatherings if they are vaccinated. It is for their safety and protection. No amount of money can repay the agony and pain one could feel upon infection with this dreaded virus.

      Vaccinating children and teens is important and a must in order to attain herd immunity, slowing the transmission of this Covid-19 virus and thereby putting an end to this pandemic. Children and teens need to be vaccinated for their safety and protection, for them to enjoy their childhood and teen lives, for the continuity of their education, and to achieve a normal and healthy way of life.

Online Sources:

Anonymous, Providence, Retrieved on April 6, 2022

https://coronavirus.providence.org/blog/uf/669190925?streamId=7436536/

Freddy Monares, Montana Public Radio, Retrieved on April 6, 2022

https://www.mtpr.org/montana-news/2021-11-09/9-things-you-need-to-know-about-covid-vaccines-for-kids/

Supriya Mannepalli, Northeast Georgia Health System, Retrieved on April 6, 2022

https://www.nghs.com/2021/11/04/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-covid-19-vaccine-for-kids/