Should NY Children Get The Coronavirus Vaccine? Take The Survey

NEW YORK — Last week, the Centers for Disease Control gave emergency-use authorization for Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine to be given to children ages 12-15.

"CDC now recommends that this vaccine be used among this population, and providers may begin vaccinating them right away," CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said.

The question now is: Will New York parents listen?

Over 3.85 million children have tested positive for COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics in this landmark May 6 report, considered the most recent and complete analysis of COVID and children to date.

Now parents who have already decided whether or not to get the relatively new vaccine must decide if they want the same for their children, a group generally much more resistant to the ill effects of COVID-19.

While an official number of how many children have died of coronavirus is difficult to obtain, children make up 0.00-0.21 percent of all COVID-19 deaths, said the AAP. Approximately .03 percent of all child COVID cases have resulted in death, they found.

That doesn't mean children can't become seriously ill, Dr. Adam Ratner, a pediatric infectious disease specialist, recently wrote in the New York Daily News in an opinion piece entitled, "Vaccinate kids against COVID now."

"Over the past year, I have personally cared for children with COVID-19 who required mechanical ventilation and other intensive care measures," Ratner wrote. "Reports of pediatric COVID-19 hospitalizations, particularly due to variant strains, have increased in recent months, in part due to some highly transmissible variant strains."

So Patch wants to know, now that the vaccine is available for 12 and up, will you be taking your child for an inoculation? Fill out our survey below.