In early December, the option of vaccination was opened to yet another portion of the U.S. population: kids 5 to 11. The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine was officially approved for anyone over age five, and in the nearly two months since, there has been a continuous conversation over whether children should receive the vaccine.
“There's a lot of data,” said English teacher Keith Proctor. “It definitely felt that it came out quickly for adults, but they did go through all the appropriate testing and trials and all of that. But there was even more time for kids. It did not come out like it did for the adults and so they have the adult data as well that they can use with the kids data, so there's even more information.” In fact, the CDC assures that extensive clinical trials were performed and no “serious safety concerns” were found. The process to develop a vaccine and get it approved is far from simple, regulated by strict FDA guidelines.
“I think just science and the statistics of how the vaccination was helping, even when people got it to have lesser symptoms. And so I just trusted what I heard about the symptoms becoming lesser,” said Heather Nelsen, a social studies teacher whose youngest is in middle school. “And of course, anytime you can protect your kids in any way, you try.” Nelsen, whose husband is a chemical engineer who has worked with the FDA in the process of developing pharmaceuticals, confirms that the FDA’s guidelines are not only strict but are also there to promote safety. She notes that the Covid-19 vaccine did go through less testing than usual vaccines because of the pressured timeline, but that she feels the accelerated timeline was worth it.
“I tend to defer to the people who are experts, such as doctors. My daughter's doctor said that the kids should get it,” says PE and Health teacher and Track and Field head coach Chris Carhart, who has two young daughters.
“For society to work, you have to trust people to do their part in their job. When people have questions about PE or Track and Field, they come to me. So when every public health expert and every doctor in the world says 'get the vaccine,' I trust the process that it went through and then I make that decision to go ahead and do it,” said Carhart. Naturally, concerns regarding the vaccine are amplified with the prospect of giving it to one’s children. Carhart, Nelsen, and Proctor all acknowledge these misgivings but assuage them assuredly.
“I would say if they're worried, talk to whoever they can that they trust in terms of who has the background. Talk to people who have had their kids vaccinated and see how it went,” said Proctor. His personal opinion? “I would recommend that they do it, because it's worked for us. And I think we've seen with the adults who are getting boosted and vaccinated in if they do get it its severity is much lower. So I would recommend it, but I don't want to tell people what to do,” he said. Proctor, whose two daughters recently received the vaccine, noted that their symptoms were very minimal -- really only consisting of some tiredness. Despite relatively mild symptoms in children, some parents remain concerned.
Some of the most common worries prompt responses of “wait and see”, and “wanting to do their own research.” Carhart expresses particular reservations about the latter response. “When I hear the word research, I think of trials and field studies and peer-reviewed journals -- none of which these people are doing,” said Carhart. “They're getting on the internet and they're reading. And we're sort of insulated in our bubble with these confirmation biases that feed into these things. And so again, you have to say it's everybody's choice, whether or not they want to do it. But I just believe that if you want to take part in our community and our society, then this is the cost and I don't think it's much to ask.” But as Nelsen noted, the Covid-19 vaccine is unlike any other.
“It's interesting the debate that it's caused because it's been a world pandemic,” said Nelsen. “I just feel like understanding how vaccinations can help is really important because it isn't just about that one person. It's really about society.”
Indeed, we’ve likely all heard the idea of “herd immunity”. The CDC, who uses the monniker “community immunity” explains the concept as “a situation in which a sufficient proportion of a population is immune to an infectious disease to make its spread from person to person unlikely.” They explain that even the unvaccinated would be offered some protection through community immunity simply because the virus would have less opportunity to spread. But even this concept has found its way into political agendas.
“It's just it's scary that things are so politicized that we can't agree on on a tangible set of facts anymore,” said Carhart. “And I think it's come from the top of our political parties and I think it's just sowing more division.” To many, this polarized political atmosphere is a dangerous cocktail when paired with vaccination information. Beyond political agendas, however, the interpersonal issues and human testimonies speak volumes.
“We have a family friend who their daughter started kindergarten this year. But wasn't able to do any preschool or any anything really from three to five or six now,” Proctor said. “So she's really struggling because of the social part of it. She doesn't know how to act and behave in the classes because she's never really been there. And so they're to the point where she might have to leave school because it's so bad.” He sees the same trend in all high school grades too, explaining that remote learning truly took a visible toll on socialization and vocalization. Of course, the extended isolation has been particularly difficult on younger kids who rely heavily on social interaction for personal development.
“I think it's super important to be in person for education physically for people's different learning styles,” said EMT and vaccine clinic volunteer administrator Andrew Hibbitt said. “So having as many kids vaccinated as possible to try and keep it from spreading and giving the kids the ability to be in school…I think that's super important.” Hibbitt also pointed out that kids tend to be in closer quarters to one another in school than adults would at work, which inevitably worsens spreading of viruses.
“Also, for people who live in multi-generational households and have people to take care of children that are older, [the vaccine] protects them as well,” added colleague and fellow volunteer Marie McConville. The kids vaccine could undoubtedly aid in reaching community immunity -- which is part of the determining factor for some parents.
“We decided to vaccinate before it was available,” said Proctor. “We were adamant that we were gonna do it before and we just were waiting for it to be available. And then my wife got my oldest kid their vaccine the day it was opened.” Likewise, Nelsen jumped at the chance of a vaccine for her kids.
“I really believed that it would help to protect them because they are so active and at school, of course, and involved in sports. So as soon as it was available for my older son, he got it, and then my younger son got it as soon as it was available for over five,” she said.
So why were they so eager?
“I think it was two things,” said Proctor. “One, it's protecting our kids being at school. Especially for my youngest, being in an elementary school, kids have a hard time with masks sometimes… And so we were just worried about their health. We wanted them to be happy and healthy, and in school as much as possible.” Particularly because his wife is a doctor specializing in internal medicine at St. Joseph Hospital -- who he notes has experienced the health effects of the pandemic firsthand -- their kids’ health makes sense as a priority. His second reason is much more community-based, however.
“The other part is bigger picture,” said Proctor. “With me being a teacher and my wife being a doctor, maybe we have a different perspective, but it's also about helping make sure that other people don't get it. My wife's seen a lot of people come in so that, at one point, probably in the last two or three weeks, her hospital was almost full, which has not really ever happened.” This means there were not enough beds for people and not enough room in the ICU. But he notes that this lack of space is not just due to people with Covid-19. “It's people who have heart attacks, and who are in accidents and things like that. So having our kids vaccinated, we thought it was also helpful in terms of not spreading it to other people.” From another perspective, a child getting the vaccine may be a much better alternative to that child catching Covid-19 itself.
“The side effects and long term effects of COVID in kids hasn't been well studied and are very varied from they are adults. So it's also more unpredictable what long-term effects children will have from COVID than adults, including some weird neurological stuff,” said McConville, a trained EMT. She explains that the symptoms of Covid for children can differ from adults, and because fewer children have gotten Covid, there is significantly less data behind the effects of Covid on children -- unlike the kids vaccine, which has gone through extensive testing.
So in more ways than one, vaccinating children seems like it could have very positive repercussions. Proctor also points out that with greater vaccinations and consequentially, fewer cases, the community is able to remain open and functional for longer.
“I think it helps everyone because then schools are open, people can work, people can learn. We can have friends, you know? All those things are important for kids -- going out to friends' houses and restaurants and things like that. It's all important for us,” said Proctor.
Nelsen echoes this sentiment with a comparison to the dark age of 2020. “We saw what life was like in 2020 when we shut down,” said Nelsen. “And I just don't wish that we ever go back to that. So I just feel like the vaccination would help it so that we don't have to shut down completely again.”