Welcome to another week.
As the government considers vaccinating secondary school pupils against Covid-19 in September, debate rages on about whether children should be given the jab.
Some experts say that children do not need the jab as current research suggests that children are less at risk of infection, and should not be immunised purely on moral grounds – to shield the adult population from infection. Vaccine sceptics have also raised concerns about the safety of the vaccines available.
Other experts say children are just as vulnerable to the virus as adults, and that new data from countries like Brazil show that babies and children are dying at unusually high rates in the country due to Covid-19, as a suspected new variant of the virus takes hold.
Our question this week then, is just this: do you think children should be vaccinated against Covid-19?
Additional links:
- UK has enough Pfizer vaccines for all children over 12, Matt Hancock says
- Sources say jabs to be offered to UK’s secondary school pupils from September
- Vaccine trials involving UK children
- Covid-19 is killing infants and young children in Brazil
Researching Reform 
I always though healthy adults had a better immune system than children who are still developing so based on this Children should be just as much at risk if not more than adults.
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Childhood vaccines have over 20 years of efficacy data behind them. Flu vaccines in adults are given by injection, in children they are given by nasal spray and only 1 dose is given. There is a reason for this, we have amples of data supporting this.
Now the government want to give an experimental drug (its not really a vaccine, it has been genetically engineered) to our children without ANY long term efficacy data.
Wow, you wouldn’t do this to a lab animal so why is anyone ok with this being done to human children?
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No No and No!
This is insane that the government is even considering this.
I worked in pharma for over 10 years after I left veterinary medicine, this ‘vaccine’ should have been classified as a drug not a vaccine.
If it had been classified correctly the requirements to administer it to children would be a great deal tougher. It was deliberately classified as a vaccine to bypass very strict requirements.
Under a drug the full pathway has to be monitored and logged, so that means where the drug deposits itself in the body and in what quantities, how its excreted, by which pathway and the quantities, this is so we can pre-empt any future damage the drug can do.
For the first 2 years it would be under a black triangle (you’ll see this above the name on the packet of any new drug), this means ANY adverse reactions MUST be reported by law.
Any drug by law has to be tested for 10 years, this came into effect after the Thalidomide disaster.
Vaccines do not require any of the above, we have no information on where this ‘vaccine’ goes once its in the body, or how its excreted, or how much remains in the body and what happens to the remaining part.
So often drugs are removed from the market after the 10 years of testing but whilst in their 2 yr black triangle reporting, this is due to adverse effects that are not tested for. We only find out that the drug has serious health issues once in its in the population.
With all due respect I have little confidence in any data that is coming out of Brazil, the correct clinical studies have not been put in place to corroborate their findings.
Our children are not human test subjects, no one must ever allow their child to be vaccinated.
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Do no harm. The principle of the Hippocratic oath that doctors should adhere to.
The trouble is we have been given a very narrow strategy to follow which although being cited as “following the science” it hasn’t.
After separating the facts from myths we now know that Covid is not as serious to all as it appeared in the beginning. The high death rate initially came from those with co-morbidities & the elderly. Those susceptible who had cancer & other diseases. Those near to the end of their lives. The data that was given to us focussed on rising infections, a daily death rate & new variants. Graphs showed us how the death rate was considerably higher than in previous years. A panicked response from the government resulted & with that response came lock downs. When we were allowed out again it was with no physical contact, distance & wearing masks & exercise for 1 hour outside a day, along with other freedoms we take for granted. None of these strategies had a scientific basis for not catching the virus. Scientific peer review was suspended. Debate on how to manage Covid was strangled.
A vaccine programme was initiated along with lock downs & is considered a success. What wasn’t known so much was that T cell testing uncovered that many people already had a cross immunity. (These people were tested as having Covid but were naturally immune). The U.K. may not have the same immunity as other countries but we do have colds & flu which would give some cross immunity. Our immune system is adept at killing off virus, in an ideal world.
Covid is an invisible threat but the undeniable success of the vaccination program has mitigated that treat.
The jury is still out about lock downs as the finances of some individuals increased but the economy flat lined as companies closed & people were furloughed. Thousands have lost their jobs. Other diseases were not treated resulting in deaths too.
The figures given by the government have not been put into context but are alarming which feeds fear leading to compliance. The governments response has been driven by the precautionary principle This means a precautionary stance was taken before all the data was in. This has the effect of exaggerating the effects of Covid, responding to a worse case scenario & has created intrusive actions in order to mitigate potential harm.
To illustrate how this approach can go wrong is when the government freed up hospital beds. This proved disastrous for the elderly moved from hospitals into care homes which resulted in their deaths. Instead of getting medical help they were entitled to, after paying their taxes over their lifetime, the home bound elderly were told not to access their doctors, so as not to overwhelm the NHS resulting in deaths from heart attacks & cancer etc. Since the government was supposed to be preventing deaths this strategy backfired spectacularly.
Children are normally given preferential treatment but during the pandemic have had to live their lives in an abnormal way. Their lives have been totally disrupted. They have been denied social interactions & eduction has been sporadic. Toddlers have found their vocabulary has been stunted. The fact they are unlikely to get Covid makes it worse. Children can catch it but of those who have & died were found to have existing medical problems, although I have heard tabloid report that no issues existed for some.
The U.K. may not have preexisting immunity as many other eastern countries have who have dealt with other corona viruses.
Children are at a much lower risk of catching the virus but they can pass it on to others. It may be a leap but a vaccine may also protect them as they get older. The trouble is there is not much scientific data about children.
Should they catch it, they may be asymptomatic & may inadvertently transmit it to others, possibly family members or to others. If they do have symptoms they may be mild but may have unknown lasting repercussions in the same way of adults. .
This virus mutates & children may be more susceptible with different variants but it’s totally feasible that the mutations are not a problem & their stronger immune system will shrug it off. In my opinion, I don’t think our children are at optimum health nor close to it. Children? What age does that cover? Up to 18 years old? The older they get the more bad habits they get. Bad habits make them more susceptible to diseases & viruses.
A few years back the government advised that every man, woman & child in the U.K. should take a vitamin D supplement every day but how many do? The supplement has been found to help prevent Covid or lessen the symptoms but the research flip flops with the evidence. However it is known most people are deficient & it helps all sorts of other issues so it’s well worth taking anyway.
Post Covid complications.
We are aware that if you catch the virus you may not recover as quickly as others & suffer with long Covid but other lesser known opportunistic infections can occur, after you have been treated for Covid. The Black Fungus currently an epidemic in India, occurs 12-18 days after recovery from Covid. The official figures record a 50% mortality rate depending on how quickly you can get the right medical treatment & in a timely manner. Unfortunately that makes it in reality around 94% mortality in India. The black fungus, already in the environment, had about 3 infections last year has this year increased to over 9,000 cases, now classed as an epidemic within India. Diabetics are at particular risk due to the raised blood sugar levels. 10% of India’s population has diabetes. Another infection is Mucurmycosis & diabetics are susceptible to that too.
The only strategy that the government has done that has been a resounding success is the vaccination program.
It may be lockdown was done to enable the vaccines to get out to the people. The masks & social distancing were tangible to tell people the government was doing something even if they didn’t do much else.
Covid is unlikely to ever be eliminated in the way small pox was as its a different beast altogether so my gut instinct says to immunise children. Covid was thought to be a virus that only affected the elderly & those that had medical problems but Covid has run rampant through India (to give example) & younger age groups have been affected. It had previously been thought Covid didn’t affect children. Covid is on the wind & it appears to latch onto someone vulnerable so it’s likely children will be vaccinated.
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In medicalnewstoday.com I was reminded that vitamin D is not a vitamin but a hormone precursor.
Insufficient levels of vitamin D (very common) were found in hospitalised Covid 19 patients. It was also noted that low levels were associated with more severe disease & mortality.
Studies have shown lockdown has contributed to worsening levels of vitamin D deficiency in some countries.
The U.K. government recommended the vulnerable 2.5 million people a 4 months supply of vitamin D in Dec 2020. Scotland already had implemented a similar scheme earlier.
In my opinion this is a little too late. Vitamin D is built up in the Summer & stored to give winter protection. That’s the theory but the reality is in the U.K. we are unlikely to be able to get adequate levels in the first place & certainly not to the people who are at most risk, including the elderly, the sick & BAME population since they are less likely to go out into the sun.
Vitamin D is essential for bone & muscle Heath preventing rickets in children & osteopenia in adults. That should be another reason to take a vitamin D supplement especially since this year we have barely seen the sun, let alone sit outside without a coat on!
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