Vaccinating children: Arguments don’t hold water

Posted at 10:30am UK time

When the argument for vaccinating children is shorn of its Government and teaching union spin, it does not hold water.

Start with two undisputable facts. First, children are hardly affected by Covid. Second, everybody in Britain who has a reasonable chance of getting seriously ill from Covid has been offered the vaccine. A very high proportion has accepted this offer, and polling suggests that many more will.

The line used to be that vaccine ‘refuseniks’ were ‘selfish’. Now, Government advisers admit they want to vaccinate children to protect themselves. Who’s selfish now?@bournbrookmaghttps://t.co/Mw5ND23cBP @KathyConWom @BreesAnna

— Michael Curzon (@MichaelWCurzon) June 6, 2021

One must therefore assume that those who have not accepted the offer to be vaccinated are either unconcerned with catching Covid, or are worried, but for whatever reasons are even more fearful of the vaccine. From this, we can deduce two arguments for vaccinating children.

1. Children, who are hardly affected by Covid, should be vaccinated to protect those who are unconcerned with the effects of catching Covid.

2. Children, who are hardly affected by Covid, should be vaccinated to protect those who believe vaccines to be too risky to take themselves. That we are on the way to start vaccinating children suggests something has gone badly wrong with our thinking.