Anonymous wrote:Q&A on why US is an outlier in making all-age covid booster recommendations:
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2024-02-28/why-the-u-s-is-an-outlier-on-covid-boosters-for-kids

“CHOP's Offit: The goal of this vaccine is to prevent serious illness. That’s the goal. So the question then becomes: Who is getting seriously ill? That generally falls into four groups: the elderly, those who have high-risk medical conditions, people who are pregnant or people who are immunocompromised, and that’s why those countries make those recommendations. I think that the reason the U.S. broadly recommends boosters for children is because we think that a nuanced recommendation – meaning targeting high-risk groups – is a garbled recommendation, and the best way to get those high-risk groups vaccinated is to recommend the vaccine for everyone.”

Anonymous wrote:Q&A on why US is an outlier in making all-age covid booster recommendations:
https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2024-02-28/why-the-u-s-is-an-outlier-on-covid-boosters-for-kids

“CHOP's Offit: The goal of this vaccine is to prevent serious illness. That’s the goal. So the question then becomes: Who is getting seriously ill? That generally falls into four groups: the elderly, those who have high-risk medical conditions, people who are pregnant or people who are immunocompromised, and that’s why those countries make those recommendations. I think that the reason the U.S. broadly recommends boosters for children is because we think that a nuanced recommendation – meaning targeting high-risk groups – is a garbled recommendation, and the best way to get those high-risk groups vaccinated is to recommend the vaccine for everyone.”

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Anonymous wrote:My post is above. Think of us people on cancer drugs that lower our immunity! If the fever is over 100.5 we’re supposed to call the doctor and it can mean ending up in the hospital in an isolation room. I had 103 fever with Covid and my lungs hurt so bad with the coughing. I didn’t call because at that point I didn’t think they could do anything. It would be more preventative than anything.

Yes. Please educate yourself on herd immunity. For something more current than polio, read up on all of the anti-measles vaccination issues that cropped up in Vancouver, WA and Portland, OR. Everyone was relying on herd immunity to protect their unvaccinated kid, but then there weren’t enough vaccinated kids. One of my coworkers’ grandparents went deaf from catching measles back in the 1910’s.

Then you by all means should be getting every booster. My kids not getting one has absolutely no impact on you. Sure it might lessen their symptoms (which were a minor cold btw) if they get it.

How is it 2024 and people still don't know this?

Actually, herd immunity is a vital part of public health. It's very sad that we've had such a breakdown in our cultural sense of responsibility to one another. Polio is actually a very mild illness for most people (and, like covid, actually worse for adults than children), but we decided that the risk of potentially deadly and debilitating illness for a few is worth vaccinating everyone. What has happened to our sense of obligation to the public good?

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Anonymous wrote:In fall 2023, a major reason why the CDC's APIC made an all-age covid booster recommendation was due to equity considerations. In order for insurance to cover boosters, APIC has to recommend them. APIC wanted to ensure that anyone who wanted a booster could get one, which an all-age recommendation achieves. A desire to game insurance companies is a poor reason to make all-age covid booster recommendations.

https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2023-09-11/should-you-get-the-new-covid-booster-the-cdc-is-about-to-decide
"A small percentage of Americans got the most recent COVID-19 booster shot, and even fewer probably realize the federal government is preparing to recommend yet another shot as early as Tuesday. Until a week or two ago, Dr. William Schaffner read that indifference as a sign the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should advocate vaccinating only those most at risk from the virus. But then Schaffner, an infectious-disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, changed his mind. Members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices won him over to the argument that the vaccine be recommended for all Americans above 6 months of age ...

Some of Schaffner’s scientific colleagues argue the government should be recommending the shot only for frail, older, sick and immunocompromised people. Over 95% of the U.S. population has some immunity to COVID-19 through vaccination, infection or both, and the risks of serious illness for healthy younger people are not great. Schaffner doesn’t disagree. But lots of not-necessarily-vulnerable Americans do want the shot for themselves and their children, and, without a CDC recommendation, insurance companies wouldn’t have to pay for the vaccine. ..."The last thing we need are financial barriers that would enhance disparities,” Schaffner said."

This is key. Note that the same applies in European countries, and yet they don't make a blanket recommendation. If the CDC recommended it to people of all ages who have co-morbidities that make them high-risk, they could also achieve the "equity" goal of making sure that everyone who needs it gets it. Opening it up to everybody who just wants it for no good reason is a gift to Pfizer.

Anonymous wrote:I promise I'm not a paranoid still wearing masks, but can the folks saying no say why? At this point, why isn't it any different from getting the flu shot?

Anonymous wrote:In fall 2023, a major reason why the CDC's APIC made an all-age covid booster recommendation was due to equity considerations. In order for insurance to cover boosters, APIC has to recommend them. APIC wanted to ensure that anyone who wanted a booster could get one, which an all-age recommendation achieves. A desire to game insurance companies is a poor reason to make all-age covid booster recommendations.

https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2023-09-11/should-you-get-the-new-covid-booster-the-cdc-is-about-to-decide
"A small percentage of Americans got the most recent COVID-19 booster shot, and even fewer probably realize the federal government is preparing to recommend yet another shot as early as Tuesday. Until a week or two ago, Dr. William Schaffner read that indifference as a sign the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention should advocate vaccinating only those most at risk from the virus. But then Schaffner, an infectious-disease specialist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, changed his mind. Members of the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices won him over to the argument that the vaccine be recommended for all Americans above 6 months of age ...

Some of Schaffner’s scientific colleagues argue the government should be recommending the shot only for frail, older, sick and immunocompromised people. Over 95% of the U.S. population has some immunity to COVID-19 through vaccination, infection or both, and the risks of serious illness for healthy younger people are not great. Schaffner doesn’t disagree. But lots of not-necessarily-vulnerable Americans do want the shot for themselves and their children, and, without a CDC recommendation, insurance companies wouldn’t have to pay for the vaccine. ..."The last thing we need are financial barriers that would enhance disparities,” Schaffner said."

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Anonymous wrote:No- no real reason to vax younger kids. We do get flu shots.
DD was one of those who had significant differences in her period post shots. So we evaluated potential risk vs harms and decides against it.

We do get flu and all other shots.

I was bullied while pregnant to get the covid vaccine. When they asked me why I didnt want it, I said because of the menstrual irregularities. "That isn't a thing!" said my female doctor.

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Anonymous wrote:For those that say kids were equally sick or worse from COVID vaccine than illness, they ignore that the vaccine is scheduled.

My child got Covid vaccine on a Friday. And we planned for a restful weekend. But hardly any side effects. Much better than unexpected and disruptive Covid illness. Of course people get sick, but you are not helpless against illness. Vaccinate. Wash your hands. Sleep. Eat well.

And the immunity lasts longer with a vaccine than illness.

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine-what-you-need-to-know

But we haven’t been getting Covid yearly.

That is absolutely not true. There is long lasting cellular immunity with a natural infection you do not get at all with the vaccine.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those that say kids were equally sick or worse from COVID vaccine than illness, they ignore that the vaccine is scheduled.

My child got Covid vaccine on a Friday. And we planned for a restful weekend. But hardly any side effects. Much better than unexpected and disruptive Covid illness. Of course people get sick, but you are not helpless against illness. Vaccinate. Wash your hands. Sleep. Eat well.

And the immunity lasts longer with a vaccine than illness.

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/coronavirus/covid-19-vaccine-what-you-need-to-know

But we haven’t been getting Covid yearly.

Anonymous wrote:No- no real reason to vax younger kids. We do get flu shots.
DD was one of those who had significant differences in her period post shots. So we evaluated potential risk vs harms and decides against it.

We do get flu and all other shots.

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Anonymous wrote:To pp who says he would find new pediatrician if they recommended the Covid booster - that is ridiculous. The cdc recommends it so that pediatrician would just be doing their job! Not recommended it would actually go against professional guidelines. I'd be surprised by pediatricians at least not offering the vaccine.

I’m not the PP you’re responding to and I wouldn’t switch pediatricians, even though our teen boys haven’t gotten any boosters. But their pediatrician doesn’t carry the vaccine or recommend it to kids.

I am the PP who said I would find a new pediatrician if ours were "pushing" Covid boosters on my boys. Ours did actually offer boosters to us last year, but when I said that my kids had three shots and weren't getting any more, didn't bat an eye and moved on, and didn't bring it up again at this fall's physical.

I personally don't think they should even offer them because there is no evidence that benefits outweigh the risks, but I know they probably have to due to the CDC recommendation. I would only hold it against them if they insisted and showed that they truly believed it was a good idea.

Hmmm… why do you think the CDC recommends boosters? Do you think the doctors working there are more or less qualified to make recommendations as to infectious diseases than your local pediatrician?

Why doesn't anyone every grapple with the fact that NO OTHER PEER country recommends COVID boosters for kids/teens? Are we so sure only the US gets this right (and every other country/UK/Europe etc gets it wrong)?

Most other countries recommendations have nothing whatsoever to do with vaccine “risk” to young people, which is what most of the anti-vaxxers (who don’t want to be called anti-vaxxers) are arguing in this thread. Their recommendations have to do with cost and resource allocation.

We can afford it, so we recommend it. It’s that simple.

No. Europe contracted with Pfizer and agreed to purchase set amounts of covid vaccines, so they have already purchased them. Europe is throwing away billions of dollars of covid vaccines given their decision not to make continued broad-based covid vaccine recommendations. This has been politically controversial. It would have been easier to make broad based recommendations and put these unwanted doses into the arms of Europeans but they did not feel that was medically justified so they are throwing the doses away instead and taking the political lumps. https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-bonfire-covid-vaccines-coronavirus-waste-europe-analysis/

Germany does not recommend any covid vaccine for children -- boosters or primary series. "The Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO) currently recommends that babies, (young) children and adolescents without underlying conditions do not require a basic immunisation or booster against COVID-19 on account of the mostly mild courses of disease with a very low likelihood of needing hospitalisation." https://www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de/en/coronavirus/faq-covid-19-vaccination.html