Thousands of Pa. parents chase promise of “protection”; but risks loom

By: Caroline Machiraju

Harrisburg, Pa. – Almost 20,000 parents have chased down the supposed “protection” promised by the Covid-19 vaccine for children, ages 5-11; but some doctors say risks of the rushed vaccine still loom.

Children in the 5-11 age group have recorded the lowest hospitalization rate, of all age groups, during the Covid pandemic. It probably explains why most states, including PA, are not providing hospitalization data, by age group.

Pennsylvania Department of Health Refuses to Provide Full COVID-19 Death Datahttps://t.co/SOevmnRv9z

— Sean Guay (@sguay09) November 11, 2021

And, no surprise here, but neither are states providing data on Covid symptoms related to children. 

Symptoms reported anecdotally among children in this age group were: low-grade fever, sniffles and sore throat, with children typically rebounding in 1-3 days. 

The panic among parents was sparked by mainstream headlines that alluded to “soaring” hospitalizations in children, but those supposed “sharp” hospital spikes (in August 2021) totaled about 1.4 of every 100,000 children – that’s: essentially .00%. It’s also worth noting, the CDC has stated Covid hospitalization rates are similar to pre-pandemic flu-associated hospitalization rates.

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Pa. Acting Health Secretary Alison Beam seized on this fear; and told parents that vaccines were the ticket to “safely learn, play and be a kid” while Governor Tom Wolf dangled the disappearance of masks, now that the Covid-19 vaccine received emergency use approval, by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for ages 5-11 Oct. 29.

Ironically, for all the assurances they have given to parents, they still pronounce on their website: “even though vaccines are being administered, there is still limited information on how the vaccines reduce or stop transmission or how long protection lasts.”

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It goes on to state: “With this in mind, it is still important to get tested if you have symptoms or have possibly been exposed.”

So. What’s that protection that Wolf and Beam promised again?

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Risks in real-world?

While the survival rate and low-grade symptoms were hardly mentioned in mainstream media, the risks linked to the vaccine were even more suppressed.

They were however cited in an American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) article that featured coverage of a federal vaccine panel that met Oct. 26, paving the way for the FDA’s approval.

At that meeting, some doctors raised their voices about the risks, citing the cases of myocarditis seen – not in the controlled trials – but in real-world settings. 

H. Cody Meissner, M.D., FAAP, chief of the Division of Pediatric Infectious Disease at Tufts Medical Center said: “a very small percent of otherwise healthy (5)- to 11-year-old children .. might derive some benefit” but he cautioned: “We simply don’t know what the side effects are going to be.”

Meissner noted that CDC data show about 42% of children may have had COVID-19, which he said likely means they have protection. 

And if side effects surface?

“If surveillance systems do start seeing severe outcomes and deaths from vaccination, I’m quite confident those surveillance systems will tell us we need to pause like we did with the J&J (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine,” said Patrick S. Moore, M.D., M.P.H., professor in the Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.

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Myocarditis?

Drs. Peter McCullough and Jessica Rose jointly published an article that revealed the cause and effect relationship between the Covid-19 vaccines and myocarditis. McCullough is one of the most highly respected and published cardiologists in the US.

After their peer-reviewed report was published and approved for publication, it was posted by its publisher, Elsevier, on the National Institute of Health (NIH) site, but shortly after, the publisher withdrew it, without reason.

McCullough and Rose stand by their article which notes: “within 8 weeks of the public offering of Covid-19 products to the 12-15-year-old age group, we found 19 times the expected number of myocarditis cases in the vaccination volunteers over background myocarditis rates for this age group.”

VAERS:

If you suspect your child has had an adverse reaction to the vaccine, parents are urged to report that to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). Established in 1990, VAERS is a national early warning system to detect possible safety problems in U.S.-licensed vaccines. VAERS is co-managed by the CDC and FDA. VAERS analyzes reports of adverse events (possible side effects) after a person has received a vaccination.

Healthcare professionals are required to report certain adverse events and vaccine manufacturers are required to report all adverse events that come to their attention; but anyone can report an adverse event to VAERS.

VAERS is not designed to determine if a vaccine caused a health problem, but serves as a surveillance tool. It is useful for detecting a possible safety problem with a vaccine. This way, VAERS can provide CDC and FDA with valuable information that additional work and evaluation is necessary to further assess a possible safety concern.