COVID-19 Vaccine for Children: Mandatory or Simply Encouraged?

As experts race to make a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine, others are thinking about how to conduct the said COVID-19 vaccine and whether it should be mandatory, especially for children. 

With Operation Warp Speed's help, many manufacturers have been making clinical trials for vaccine subjects. Recent polls show that as many as 70 percent of adults in the United States plan to get the COVID-19 vaccine once it is ready for use, and thousands of them have signed up as subjects in various human trials to speed up the process of the new vaccine. 

The spread of the virus to slow down will require a large portion of the people to get vaccinated. Based on medical reports, if there are enough people who do not take the COVID-19 vaccine, the goal to curb the pandemic will not work. 

Despite the need for the COVID-19 vaccine, the issue about it being required raises questions for parents, especially those concerned about its safety. 

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The safety of the COVID-19 vaccine

Many people are not happy with the government's sped-up process of the COVID-19 vaccine approval timeline. On the Gallup survey released in mid-November, only 58 percent of people say they would get the vaccine. Many of them are concerned about whether experts bargained the safety measures to make the COVID-19 vaccine faster. On the other hand, medical experts do not share the same concern. 

Medical experts are confident because, based on the reports, the FDA works closely with the researchers to make an effective vaccine design. And despite the sped-up process regarding administrative components, they say that safety measures were still done and appropriately followed. 

Although there have been trials for the vaccine, experts pointed out that such COVID-19 vaccine trials have mainly kept children out, but Pfizer started doing tests, and others will likely follow suit.

On the other hand, experts have yet to determine if children will be approved to join the public or if more research needs to be done first. The FDA wants to ensure the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine first before letting the children have it.

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Who can mandate a COVID-19 vaccine?

Because of the restraints set in the laws, public health measures fall to the states. That is why the federal government will have a hard time mandating the said vaccine.

On the other hand, states can require vaccines if it is considered a need for public health. However, keep in mind that governments can only do this if the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices of ACIP will say so. And as long as it is valid and in the interest of the public, cities can also mandate vaccines.

For schools, there are already cases where they require certain vaccines such as polio, DTap, MMR, varicella, and hepatitis B. So, there is no telling that they can also mandate the said COVID-19 vaccine.

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