Poll - Will your kids get the Covid vaccine?

[ten6mom]

My older son is 16 and has had his first dose already. The second is scheduled for May 15.

My younger son is 14 and I think we will probably get his done as soon as it's available.

I haven't quite decided what I think the Covid risk to them is... right now my main goal is to keep them in school even if they have a "close exposure" and our district, with their shot record on file, will not require them to stay home for 14 days with close exposure.

 

[BearFamily]

Our 14 year old will be getting it as soon as she’s eligible. (Cases in children in our area are also getting quite high and we know multiple long haulers.) She also has a history of respiratory issues that have resolved as she’s gotten older, but it makes me worry. I agree that the timeline/hesitation could look different for kids if you are in an area with few/no child cases, but that’s just not the situation here.

 

[aggiedog]

Where was the "Heck yes!" answer.

My 18yo just had her second dose. I'm just waiting for my 15yo to either be approved with something other than Pfizer (we are rural and no one has the freezer capacity around here) or turn 16 in July.

 

[Becky Mouse]

Where was the "Heck yes!" answer.

My 18yo just had her second dose. I'm just waiting for my 15yo to either be approved with something other than Pfizer (we are rural and no one has the freezer capacity around here) or turn 16 in July.

Not everyone has this luxury, but are you able to drive? My husband had to drive 2 hours for his shot. It was worth it!

 

[Grand Koalafornian]

I don’t have kids, but I want to say that I’m really happy to see so many yeses. It’s really heartening to see so many people who want to protect their kids and communities from illness. I’m so glad I came back to the disboards when I did! It really a great community.

 

[Jennyonecoin]

I’ve been helping with vaccine clinics at my very large hospital system. I’ve also volunteered at community clinics. I am in absolutely no rush to get my children vaccinated. They are 15-13-11.


I’m basing my decision on what I’ve observed personally (our guidance has changed multiple times since l started assisting in clinics in December), much, much reading into the clinical trials of all three vaccines and monitoring the VAERS site.

l judge no one either way. We’ve been able to administer vaccines to 16-18 year olds in my state for a few weeks now. We’ve had very, very few sign up. Our adult vaccination rate is very low as well and many of the clinics are being cancelled and/or have many empty slots and no shows.

 

[JLTraveling]

The CDC vaccine advisory committee specifically recommended no "additional warning" be added for the vaccine because they feared it would increase vaccine hesitancy. If that strikes you as "quite transparent", we're in disagreement. AstraZeneca got much more attention on the international stage for their blood clots. The last number I saw indicated "severe blood clotting events" for 1 in 100,000 vaccinated, I'm not sure if it's higher or lower now. I think that's my point, and something nobody responds to because they have no argument. How do you prove a vaccine has no 5-10 year term side effects? It's usually part of the trials. They haven't done 5 years of testing on this vaccine, so the answer is- "nobody knows". So let's just call a spade a spade and admit that nobody has any idea what the 5-10 year side effects will be and not judge one another for the risks they are willing or unwilling to take with their own body and those of their loved ones. Thanks so much.

Let's just call a spade a spade and note that you have 67 posts and nearly all of them are anti-vax conspiracies. Troll much?

 

[Gf77]

Let's just call a spade a spade and note that you have 67 posts and nearly all of them are anti-vax conspiracies. Troll much?

Can you please quote one of my "anti-vax conspiracies" specifically, so I know what you're talking about? Also, again, why are you so hostile? Why are you so emotionally invested in this that you can spew such vitriol at someone who hasn't been rude to you at all? Is everything ok at home?

 

[AndreaA]

That's always a problem with any medical issue - it is very hard to establish a causative relationship in a complex system, and it has only gotten harder with the platform the internet has given to professional skeptics. In fact, I seriously doubt that if the link between smoking and lung cancer emerged today it would be accepted as causative. But at some point, the numbers start to reach a point where they become hard to deny, and I think we're heading in that direction with long-term covid symptoms.

I do also keep an eye on anecdotal reports of vaccine side effects, but so far, I'm just not seeing anything too worrisome. I've heard from quite a few sources that the vaccine can be a trigger for some autoimmune conditions, particularly those of the relapsing/recurring type, but that is a known side effect of all vaccines and of viral infections themselves so I crossed my fingers and rolled the dice on that one. The weird one, I think, is the report of menstrual disturbances, which I initially dismissed as internet nonsense but have now heard about from some level-headed women of my personal acquaintance. I can't even imagine the mechanism by which a vaccine could cause erratic or heavy periods. Then again, I'm not generally a science-minded person.

Don’t know if I can attribute it to the vaccine yet, but I had my second dose a week ago and my first dose right after my period ended. My periods are usually very close together - as in, I should have already started. Can’t say I’m necessarily complaining as I tend to bleed rather heavily, but it’s certainly notable to me. I did also feel some odd twinges of pain in my lower back for the week after the first vaccine. I will probably end up with a full hysterectomy (bad history of fibroids (20 the removal of which ended in a blood transfusion), extremely lucky to have my twins after three rounds of IVF. Two more rounds to use up my eggs ended in one miscarriage) so I’m trying not to worry about it but I will absolutely be paying attention to any trends in the future for others and it’s one of the reasons why I’m not rushing to vaccinate my boys.

See, I have had multiple “rare” medical issues. When you become part of a statistic you are no longer quite so flippant about ignoring the possibilities.

 

[MomOfDisneyPrincess]

I didn’t vote, but here’s my plan. DD14 has a Dr appointment on the 11th, so I plan to discuss it with the pediatrician. Depending on what she says, I do plan to get her vaccinated soon. She will be doing one in-person summer school class, so I’d like to have the peace of mind getting her vaccinated sooner than later. Also, she turns 15 at the end of the month, so we’re really only one year shy of her being lumped in with the adults in the first place.

 

[Runnsally]

Yeah, everybody here pretty much knows where the others stand and probably won't change our opinions. I feel for any dealing with long-term issues. The flip side of that is that I know at least 30 people that have gotten covid and have no long-term effects to speak of. Shout away about the vaccine! Just don't persecute the ones who don't get it or are hesitant because most I know who feel this way have had bad experiences with vaccines in the that past that come into play.

If you exercise your right not to get vaccinated, please stay home.

 

[mumto3girls]

My youngest is 14 and I do plan to have her vaccinated once it is available. I may not “rush” for her to get it as she had a fairly mild, although symptomatic, case of COVID in December. She was tested again in March (was fairly sure it was allergies, but needed to be sure) and she was negative and still had the longer acting antibodies. I have heard that the side effects from the vaccine can be worse for those who already had it and I will be trying to time her doses for when she has a little down time. DH had J&J and is already past his 2 weeks. DD20 and I will hit our 2 weeks past our second doses next week and DD17 is between dose 1 and 2. I will breathe a sigh of relief when we are all done.

 

[Disneylover99]

I've been stalking the vaccine booking website all day since I heard that 12-16 year olds have now been approved for vaccines.
Hope to get a vaccine for my daughter ASAP.

 

[JLTraveling]

Can you please quote one of my "anti-vax conspiracies" specifically, so I know what you're talking about? Also, again, why are you so hostile? Why are you so emotionally invested in this that you can spew such vitriol at someone who hasn't been rude to you at all? Is everything ok at home?

Everything's great at home, thanks for asking. And why am I emotionally invested? Because spewing disinformation is exactly how we DON'T reach herd immunity. You've either made up or quoted conspiracy theory after conspiracy theory about vaccine side effects that the government and the hospitals have hidden from us, and claimed that they came from peer reviewed medical journals. Don't want to get vaccinated or vaccinate your kids? OK, don't. But don't make things up and quote them as truth to other people.

 

[lifesavacation]

My 17 year old daughter is fully vaccinated. My MIL now feels it’s safe to come visit and she’s staying tomorrow. We’ve only seen her once this past year and that was outside and 6 feet away. We’ve also not seen my dad for a full year. He’s coming to stay next week I’m so thankful my daughter was old enough to get vaccinated. My BIL and his wife have an 8 year old and my MIL will remain socially distanced from them until the 8 year old is vaccinated.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

Where was the "Heck yes!" answer.

My 18yo just had her second dose. I'm just waiting for my 15yo to either be approved with something other than Pfizer (we are rural and no one has the freezer capacity around here) or turn 16 in July.

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Pfizer is still the only one approved for 16 year olds. So it sounds like either way, that's the only one s/he can get.

 

[TLSnell1981]

My wife is medical and we are surrounded by highly educated epidemiologists, ID doctors and pulmonologists. And my answer is ASAP.

I would have voted other because we are undecided at this point. We have received mixed opinions and one raising concerns is a prominent infectious disease doc,

 

[TLSnell1981]

My kid is 4 so I suspect it will be a while before it is approved for his age group. He has all his other vaccines and gets the flu shot annually so I suspect in time he will get this one too.

It may happen sooner than you think.

 

[Becky Mouse]

How do you prove a vaccine has no 5-10 year term side effects? It's usually part of the trials. They haven't done 5 years of testing on this vaccine, so the answer is- "nobody knows". So let's just call a spade a spade and admit that nobody has any idea what the 5-10 year side effects will be and not judge one another for the risks they are willing or unwilling to take with their own body and those of their loved ones. Thanks so much.

You're mistaken. With the RNA vaccines (Moderna and Pfizer), they've been in development for about 10 years, since the SARS scare. They were developed for SARS, which is a type of coronavirus. When we had the COVID-19 outbreak, all they had to do was adjust the vaccine for a different version of the coronavirus. It's not that much different than how the influenza vaccine is updated every year. Each year's flu vaccine doesn't need to be tested for 10 years because it's mostly the same as it was the year before. It's just been updated. The COVID-19 vaccines are the same.

Full FDA approval is about to begin for Pfizer, a process that will take a few months. Then, it will no longer be under the emergency authorization and will be under full FDA approval. This is because it's safe and effective.

You talk about how you're afraid of what the long term effects "might" be for vaccines that have been used billions of times safely. I urge you to think about what the long term effects of COVID-19 already are. You see, if you choose not to vaccinate, then you choose to get the virus. We all know the virus kills 1 out of 56 people who test positive. But what about the long term effects? People who have had COVID-19 are at a 60% increased risk of death for at least 6 months following their COVID illness. Also, 1 out of 3 survivors get diagnosed with a neurological illness within 6 months after their COVID-19 illness.

You want to hear about a disturbing study? After COVID-19 hit a college athletic team, the college decided to study the students. They all get scans of their heart. Literally half of them had an enlarged heart after suffering COVID-19. In 15% of the athletes, it was bad enough for them to be diagnosed with myocarditis.

Additionally, many survivors of COVID-19 (even those with mild cases) have damage to the lungs. Some surgeons are reporting that the lung damage from COVID is worse than the worst smokers' lungs.

In addition to the brain, the heart, and the lungs, some COVID survivors experience kidney failure. So, you say you're afraid of what the long term effects of the vaccine "might" be. But if you choose the virus instead, you know what the long-term effects are, and they are very, very dangerous. It makes no sense to choose this dangerous and deadly option.

 

[aggiedog]

Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Pfizer is still the only one approved for 16 year olds. So it sounds like either way, that's the only one s/he can get.

Not news. That's why I qualified it. I'd get the Pfizer for him but the nearest site is 2 hours away. Since he turns 16 in 2 months anyways, and in time to get vaccinated with one of the available ones here, we'll probably just wait until then. He's been in in-person school, playing football, marching band, etc, since this past August, and the grandparents and the rest of the family are vaccinated, so waiting a bit longer won't affect much hopefully.