Parents worried about vaccines should talk to their doctor, BC pediatrician says

A pediatrician who investigated the hesitation of the COVID-19 vaccine among parents in Canada, the United States, and Israel told people concerned about vaccination of their children as the Omicron variant pushed the case to the highest level ever. We encourage you to consult your healthcare provider.

Dr. Langoldman, a professor of pediatrics at the University of British Columbia, says that the current national vaccination rate for children aged 5 to 11 is too low, so parents who have questions about vaccine safety will ask them to answer. A personal connection with a pediatrician, family doctor, nurse or pharmacist who said it should be.

“If these healthcare providers first listen and understand exactly what the rationale for hesitation is and what questions parents are asking, they will work on this with knowledge and expertise. This is the key to getting parents to understand and accept the vaccine, and it’s a magical green card, “says Goldman, who practices in Vancouver.

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According to Goldman, past campaigns on pediatric vaccines have shown that conversations with healthcare providers are meaningful and help change the minds of hesitant parents.

According to Health Canada data, 39% of children between the ages of 5 and 11 received the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which was approved by that age group last November.

“That’s not enough,” Goldman said. “In terms of vaccination rates, I know we are making children fail. It is parents, grandparents, sick and healthy people who need to go to work as well as accept them. Protects everything around you, including. “

British Columbia, like New Brunswick, has a national immunization rate of 39%, but government data from these jurisdictions show a minimum rate of 37% in Alberta and Yukon.

In Ontario, nearly 45% of children up to the age of 11 receive the first vaccination, with the highest vaccination rate of 67% in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Adrian Dix, British Columbia’s Minister of Health, encouraged more parents to enroll their children in the vaccine.

“It will make children safer, and of course your family safer,” he said.

Goldman said parents should be aware that the effects of infection are far higher than the possible side effects.

He was the lead author of a study published last October in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health on parents’ willingness to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

The survey included two surveys of a total of 2,800 parents in 12 emergency departments in the United States, Israel, and Canada. Most of the parents (54%) are from Canada and were surveyed in Vancouver, Saskatoon, Edmonton and Calgary.

In the first survey conducted during the peak of the pandemic from March to May 2020, nearly 65% ​​of parents said they would vaccinate children under the age of 12.

These results were compared to the second study from December 2020 to March 2021 after the vaccine for adults was approved.

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However, less than 60% of parents said they were willing to vaccinate their children.

“We were surprised,” Goldman said, adding that some parents believed it was okay to get vaccinated on their own, but the risk was too high for their children.

“We need to work with our parents to understand the importance and safety of vaccines, especially for children,” he said.

Michelle McGrath of Langley, British Columbia, said her five-year-old son, Isaiah, was enrolled in the vaccine as soon as it was approved for use in children.

“It’s the most researched part of medicine and has the strictest standards for safety,” she said of the vaccine.

“For those who say they don’t know the long-term effects of the vaccine, they don’t even know the long-term effects of being infected with this virus,” she said.

McGrath also said the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable 11-month-old twin boys who had a 3-month premature birth and had to be taken to a regular medical facility that could be exposed to the virus. He said he was worried.

According to Goldman, about 90% of children will not get infected after receiving a vaccine that uses one-third of the dose prescribed for older children and adults.

“Getting sick and probably having a long COVID is far more dangerous than any kind of virtual potential side effect.”

Parents who believe that vaccine development is too early should be aware that mRNA vaccine technology has existed for nearly 20 years, he said.

“We know that this technology works and is actually safer than many other vaccine technologies,” he said, with the flu vaccine being effective in about 50% of people and the COVID vaccine. Added that it works for about 90% of people.

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