DOCTOR IS IN by Dr. Adil Manzoor OP/ED
Here’s the news we’ve all been waiting for – the CDC finally approves the vaccines for under 12 kids. It dragged on for so long it started to feel like it wasn’t going to come this year, but thank goodness we have it now. Candidly, it started to look very likely when the VRBPAC – Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee approved the vaccine for kids between 5 and 11, with a whopping 17 of 18 votes in the affirmative for the vaccine.
And it’s not hard to see why – the longer the virus lingers amidst us, the higher the chances of the virus mutating and developing into a deadlier strain. Again. God, no.
Delta showed just how unprepared we were for the virus mutating. The vaccine we heralded as our saving grace was embarrassed by the juiced up Delta strain.
And in mid-July, the Delta hit hard across all populations. Children between 5 and 11 make up 8% of our population, and even their fresh immune system couldn’t prevent them from getting it.
Now, the argument many make about children vaccination is how unnecessary it is given they are relatively low risk people. But there still is a risk, one a vaccine can effectively remove, or at the very least, reduce to the absolute minimum.
People say only a few children actually die. And by few they mean close to 100. In what universe is that “a few?” Yes, I get that over 750 thousand people have died from COVID, but when you consider that COVID-19 is very close to being top five leading causes of death in these children, it starts to make more sense.
The reality is children within this age class have developing and a reasonably strong immune system. Also, they rarely have serious underlying conditions that can increase their risk of dying from COVID. But they can still get it and that’s more than enough reason to get them vaccinated. Do I have to remind you why Delta even exists?
Okay, let me do the honors. Delta is a mutated strain of the parent coronavirus. There are other strains, but Delta is the most dangerous of all to us. This type of mutation will continue as long as people still have the virus. So, even a child at low risk of dying or even getting very sick can still get the virus, and see the virus mutating in them. They can then spread this mutated strain. It doesn’t look so good now, does it?
This is why the VRBPAC voted 17 to 0 to 1 for the vaccine to be approved in this age class, judging that the potential benefits outweighed the risks.
The next was to get FDA and ACIP (Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices) approval, which the vaccine got. ACIP is basically the body that advises the CDC on immunization practices. Now, the CDC recommends the vaccine for children within 5 and 11.
There always will be the debate of whether parents should risk their kids getting myocarditis. I don’t know why this is a debate at all, considering you have higher chances of getting the condition from COVID than from the vaccine. Nonetheless, according to Pfizer trials, there were no recorded cases of myocarditis. There’s no indication whatsoever that there will be.
The vaccine is approved, which means you can safely get it now. And you should – for the sake of everyone in the country. Stay safe.
This article was written by Dr. Adil Manzoor DO, a Board Certified Internist & Board Eligible Pediatrician, who works as a Hospitalist, and Emergency Room Physician. He is also the current President of Garden State Street Medicine, a non-profit organization whose sole purpose is to provide free preventive and acute urgent care services for the homeless. He is also the co-founder of his own unique medical practice Mobile Medicine NJ.
References
· https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2021/s1102-PediatricCOVID-19Vaccine.html
