Dr. Matthew Chow: Vaccinate Your 5 to 11 Year Olds

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I am the father of an energetic eight year old girl who still needs constant reminders to wash her hands, keep them away from her face, and put on the mask correctly. My partner and I, both health workers, remember the early days of the pandemic as if it were yesterday: schools were closed, we lost childcare, personal protective equipment was in short supply, so we had to find our own and our daily life was shortened. so uncertain. Many of us witnessed and experienced so much suffering and loss, in our families and in our professional lives.

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Then we had a breakthrough: the vaccines were approved and began to be rolled out to the general public. We were so relieved that perhaps this meant that life could begin to return to normal. We are grateful again when, almost a year later, our daughter became eligible for the vaccine and we immediately enrolled her. It’s early, but I really hope more parents join in; so far, a third of children aged 5 to 11 are registered.

I know there are families who are hesitant to register their children for the vaccine, taking a wait and see approach. But, here is the reason why I think you should reconsider:

1. The pandemic remains very real and will remain a threat until everyone moves in the same direction. People still get sick, feel bad, need to isolate themselves, and are at risk for conditions like long-term COVID, which we still don’t fully understand. People are still hospitalized, many hooked up to life support machines, and face a long and difficult recovery, if they survive. And people keep dying. While children, for the most part, have been spared the worst, that’s little comfort to families whose children became ill, had to isolate themselves, and sometimes passed the disease on to vulnerable people. There are also children with vulnerabilities who face the prospect of another long winter without activities that many of us take for granted; they dare not venture while the virus is still circulating as it is.

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2. The vaccine is safe. I know you may have heard otherwise, but this type of misinformation has already injured and killed countless people around the world who refused vaccination. We have real life examples where vaccinating children is safe and it is working. Millions of children ages five to 11 in the United States have already been vaccinated. Millions of children showing no signs of concern after all these doses. My nieces and nephews living in the United States were among the first children to be vaccinated, offering a safe path forward. It will do the same with our children.

3. Many vulnerable people in our society count on everyone else to get vaccinated: the elderly, people with compromised immune systems, people undergoing certain treatments, children with special needs and other vulnerabilities. They all need us to create a wall of immunity to keep them safe. The only reliable way to do this is to vaccinate as many eligible people as possible, including our children.

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4. Vaccinating your child does not mean that you are taking someone else’s vaccine. Our country has purchased enough vaccines for everyone, including our children, and it is now available to us. But let’s face it: we can only end this pandemic when we vaccinate as many people as possible around the world. We absolutely must support all efforts to bring vaccines and scientific knowledge to the less fortunate places. We can protect our children while advocating that everyone, everywhere, has access to the same protection.

Almost two years after all of this started, my family will be fully vaccinated. We feel that this long journey is finally coming to an end. But not all families feel this.

With the holiday season fast approaching, families will come together to celebrate. Since an unvaccinated person is eight to 10 times more likely to contract COVID-19, there is a greater chance of spread during this time. Vaccinating everyone, including our children, means a safer Christmas season for everyone. I urge all parents to make sure their young children are vaccinated. It’s safe, it’s effective, it will reduce the spread, and it will help all of us move on and move on with our lives.

Dr. Matthew Chow is president of the Doctors of BC