Despairing with @morningireland coverage of vaccination in children this morning until Dr Lucy Jessop came on. Uptake rates not reflective of hesitancy. They reflect the ongoing wave of COVID in this age band & the numbers infected before we upped our mask game. short 🧵
My 9 & 11 year olds will be getting the vaccine as soon as they can after they were infected in December like lots of their classmates & after-school friends. Why? #VaccinesSaveLives and viral infections, even those dubbed ‘mild’ can do serious damage.
Through work I had considerable access to information on COVID vaccines in Children. We discussed this as a family with the children and they’re super keen to get protected. Parents should discuss the vaccine with their Pharmacist or GP. Go to reputable information sources.
The HSE have comprehensive information available here: www2.hse.ie/screening-and-… and here: hse.ie/eng/health/imm…
If you want more details, there are great podcasts out there podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/cov… This one focuses on the vaccine in children. It’s a couple of months old and there’s a lot of extra REASSURING safety data now.
This one is more recent and more general. It talks about the vastly reduced risk of Multisystem inflammatory syndrome among a lot of other general COVID updates podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/cov… Double Speed is your friend.
The key thing for me is the risk of rare events. Things like MIS-C and death. Look at the US data available here: data.cdc.gov/NCHS/Deaths-by… Look at all those preventable deaths. 
Huge amounts of safety evidence, more than most other commonly used drugs, is accumulating now. US data indicated the myocarditis risk is low in this age band. COVID on the other hand has a vastly higher risk of myocarditis. cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/…
The US is at more than 9 million doses in the 5-11 yr age group. If there was a serious safety problem, it would have emerged and been detected by now.
Do your own reading. Be a good bullshit detector There are lots of sources of misinformed comment or downright lying to sell stuff. Andrew Wakefield & associated arseholes did untold damage. Read about the experience of parents who lost children from vaccine preventable illnesses
Roald Dahl’s account of the death of his daughter Olivia from complications of measles: vaccineinformation.org/infants-childr… @johnfitzsimons9’s account of looking after children during the Dublin measles outbreak in 2000 jrnl.ie/4212638
Seek information and make an informed decision. If you are hesitant, that’s normal. There is a spectrum. Gemma O’Doherty & the folks in the Irish Light would love to have everyone on the far right of this graph. If you’re still reading, you may be in the ‘movable middle’
There are people out there who spout antivax propaganda and without pausing for breath will try to sell you a tinfoil hat with a straight face.
https://twitter.com/drg1985/status/1466835454687391765
I like to think that the incredible uptake of the vaccine to date comes from the general cop on & soundness of the Irish population We know a spoofer when we see one Make the right decision for you, your family & all the people that you’ll meet (including the immunosuppressed)
Donate now for equitable global access to COVID vaccines unicef.ie/donate/get-a-v… @unicefireland @UNICEF
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
