Immunizing children does not convince everyone. Many parents doubt the benefits of a vaccine for children, who experience few symptoms of COVID-19.
It is not difficult to find parents who are reluctant to have their children vaccinated. Nearly 46% of parents of children aged 5 to 11 do not intend to have their offspring vaccinated or remain undecided, according to the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec.
Marie, a double vaccinated mother of two children aged 6 and 9, is part of this group. The government’s rhetoric leaves it in the dark. “Why are there no WHO recommendations? Why is there only one authorized vaccine? Maybe it’s less secure, ”she asks the To have to in front of her boy’s primary school. “And are they going to ask permission from both parents?” If their father is going to have them vaccinated without telling me, how is it? Are the restrictions going to be lifted completely afterwards? Will the children still have to quarantine when returning from a trip? I have billions of questions. “
Antonio Valles is also ambivalent. “I cannot travel if my children are not vaccinated. The priority would be to be able to travel to find his family outside the country. I must respect the protocol of other countries. By his side, his son says he wants to receive the vaccine. “It’s up to him to decide, basically. We have to talk to him about it. We must take a moment to discuss it with our children, ”notes the father.
After François Legault’s conference, perplexity still hung in the minds of parents contacted by the To have to. “I don’t think he really explained much, but yes, I think I’ll have my child vaccinated,” says Vicky Boulianne, herself vaccinated. “My boy wants to be vaccinated, but if it was me, I would wait a bit to see how it reacts. For her, “the only good reason for now” is to allow her child to remove his mask at school.
Essential communication
” [Les vaccins contre la COVID-19] are no more dangerous or safer than all the other vaccines given to children, ”added Dr.r Horacio Arruda, National Director of Public Health. The data indicate that pediatric vaccination protects 91% against the acquisition of infection. Quebec will send consent and information forms about vaccination to parents through schools.
Vaccination hesitation is not the result of the pandemic. Nearly a third of parents were hesitant, before COVID-19, to have their children immunized against infectious diseases. But a hesitant parent, “that does not mean that he does not vaccinate”, expresses with nuance the professor of pediatrics at the University of Sherbrooke Arnaud Gagneur.
The need to be reassured, on the other hand, has evolved. “What makes a little hesitation about vaccination today is disinformation, misinformation, everything that circulates on social networks,” explains Mr. Gagneur. “What is important is to focus on the unique discourse of health professionals to address the concerns of parents. It would be important for parents to be able to turn to health professionals to ask their questions without feeling judged. There may be an additional relay to offer [de la communication gouvernementale]. “
This observation is similar to that of the DD Maryse Guay, specialist doctor at the Montérégie public health department. “When I see what parents face, they feel helpless in the midst of this flood of information. They don’t know where to turn, and it’s hard to manage. “
The benefits of vaccination are more difficult to perceive for COVID-19 since children with the disease develop very few symptoms. “Hospitalizations, there are no consequences there. But if the children transmit the virus to the elderly, there, that can have consequences on the health system ”, advances the DD Guay.
“We are more in a global perspective of pandemic management and the need to reduce the transmission of the virus,” adds Arnaud Gagneur. “We are not used to the vaccination of children to be more collective than individual. “
The end of health measures after this chapter of the vaccination campaign is undoubtedly the best argument to convince the reluctant, according to him, because the “heavy toll” on the mental health of young people and the delays in learning taken during confinement are the first consequence of the pandemic among young people. “The benefit of vaccination for children is very great, but it is not a direct benefit. “
Canada is among the first countries in the world to immunize children with vaccines approved in North America. Only Israel, Malaysia and the United States have beaten us. Chinese vaccines, on the other hand, are already offered to children under 12 in Chile, Cambodia, Ecuador and, of course, China.
The DD Guay notes that clinical trials are underway for vaccines intended for toddlers aged 6 months to four years. “After Christmas, probably in January or February, we will have data. “