‘Pointless’ to give Covid-19 jabs to kids, experts say
The debate on whether to or not to vaccinate children against Covid-19 has brought about mixed reactions, with scientists suggesting youngsters are better off left to catch the virus naturally.
The eggheads based in the United Kingdom on Wednesday, September 15, 2021, opined that children develop ‘better’ immunity by getting infected naturally with coronavirus as opposed to boosting their immune system via jabs.
The recent remarks emerged even as the UK is embroiled in a bitter row regarding vaccinating children aged 12-15 years.
Professor David Livermore, an expert in Microbiology at the University of East Anglia, described children inoculation as “pretty pointless” based on their extremely low risk of contracting serious Covid-19 malady.
The scholar held that children would be better off contracting coronavirus which would boost their immunity similarly to the way they develop natural immunity against other diseases.
However, some medical experts led by Professor Chris Whitty are of the opinion that children aged 12-15 should be inoculated with a single dose of the Pfizer vaccine.
What is more, youngsters who are ‘competent enough’ will have the ability to counter, if they wish to do so, their parents wish for them to get the jab.
Some parents and experts have expressed concern regarding this decision saying it could cause children who have not received the jab to be victims of bullying and even lead to family disintegration
The vaccine, as illustrated by experts, functions by enabling the immune system to identify the coronavirus as well as reinforcing it to tackle future infections.
The debate regarding the coronavirus jab has been raging for some time now threatening to tear people down the middle.
Others are of the view that it would be grossly unethical to vaccinate children while people in less developed countries are yet to receive the jab.
Different schools of thought have also emerged with some researchers stating that immunity triggered by the vaccine begins to wear off within six months.
On the other hand, other studies have illustrated that Covid-19 survivors may be safe from the scourge for at least one year.
The government of Kenya has launched a mass Covid-19 vaccination drive in which it targets to give jabs to more than 10 million Kenyans before the end of 2021.