Personal beliefs that are preventing Children from Getting the COVID-19 Vaccine

Authored by Tatijana Liedman

When COVID-19 vaccines were first being distributed they were being given out to adults who were at a higher risk of getting and dying from COVID-19 or senior citizens (60+ years) then finally the vaccine was open to Essential workers and now it has recently opened everybody in general. However, the only group that is still not able to get the vaccine are children. Why is that? Many do not want to get the vaccine even if they are eligible for it because of fear, religious reasons, conspiracy theories, or because of their own personal beliefs. In this post I will be talking about the Personal beliefs aspects of why children are not getting the vaccine. 

Personal Beliefs 

This vaccine only took such little time to be developed it should be studied more. That is one reason why many people are not getting their kids vaccinated, because there wasn’t that much research put into it, or so they think. I understand why it is such a concern for certain people to not get it and the fear that comes with it. “Some parents believe that natural immunity is better for their children than is immunity acquired through vaccinations.”(JPPT) I understand why parents think that. They don’t want to put anything in their kid’s bodies because it can cause other issues. 

Other parents believe that if their child(ren) contracts a disease that can be prevented, it will be beneficial in the long run because it will help strengthen the child's immune system as he grows into adulthood. But that is not the case in this situation because it is not that simple, catching a disease does not necessarily bolster their immune system, in some cases it can actually destroy it. So if parents do not get their kids vaccinated they are putting those kids' lives at risk. 

Another reason that some parents refuse to get their children vaccinated is that they believe that negative effects of a vaccine can have an effect on their lives in the long run. They simply think that the negative effects are more detrimental than the positives. In fact many still believe that vaccines cause autism, though it was proven to be not true or even possible a while ago but there are still many people who think it is still a possibility. “Many parents do not see the preventable diseases as serious or life-threatening and would prefer to not put extra chemicals into their children's bodies.”(JPPT) Even though I agree with this quote solely for the fact that they’re putting things in their body, I would still want to get my child get what they need and help other by not spreading or preventing whatever it is. 

The Conflict 

Because of the personal beliefs that people may have towards getting vaccinated it could cause a huge rift. During this whole COVID-19 there has been a lot of issues with the views that people have. Some people believe that COVID does it exist, others do not believe in it or think it is a hoax. With people believing whether it is real or not there has been so much controversy about it that it is affecting the fact that people are getting or not getting the vaccine. Many states require you to get a vaccine in order to allow kids to attend school, and because many people are not allowing their child(ren) get the vaccine, they are putting their child(ren) at risk by not attending School. Conclusion These were only a few examples of how personal beliefs can have an affect on children and not getting the COVID-19 vaccine for if or when they are open for children will have an affect on many things. 

Sources

Immunol, Front. "Addressing Parental Vaccine Hesitancy and Other Barriers to Childhood/Adolescent Vaccination Uptake During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic." Addressing Parental Vaccine Hesitancy and Other Barriers to Childhood/Adolescent Vaccination Uptake During the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic, Mar. 2021. 

J Pediatr Pharmacol Ther. "Exploring the Reasons Behind Parental Refusal of Vaccines." Exploring the Reasons Behind Parental Refusal of Vaccines, Mar. 2016.

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