Trump Deems Vaccinating Kids “Unnecessary”

In a recent appearance on Fox News, former President Donald Trump falsely claimed that schoolchildren weren’t affected or badly impacted by the novel coronavirus. So, he believes vaccinating them to be “unnecessary.”

In a phone interview with Fox News’ anchor Sean Hannity, Trump stated that though we were fortunate to have the vaccine, “the vaccine on very young people is something that you gotta really stop.”

Without offering any clarity on the age range of children he considers “young people”, Trump further shared that being a big believer in vaccination, he didn’t see any reason in encouraging children to take the jab. “To have every schoolchild, where it’s 99.99%, they’re just not affected badly,” he said, adding, “Having to receive a vaccine, I think it’s something that you should start thinking about because I think it’s unnecessary.”

Trump’s views aren’t backed by facts. Kids are not immune to the virus. According to Politico, since the onset of the pandemic, over 2,000 children have been diagnosed with multisystem inflammatory syndrome (MIS-C). Last month, Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine was granted emergency-use authorization for kids between the ages of 12 and 15 by the Food and Drug Administration. The decision was made following positive results post clinical trials undertaken by the company. 

Although children account for a lower percentage of hospitalizations and mortalities during the pandemic, they are at risk of being infected. In a White House press briefing on June 8, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci informed that the dominant strain in the UK i.e. the delta variant was peaking in the age group of 12 to 20. 

The safety and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine are now being studied by researchers on children who are 11 years of age and younger. Health professionals also advise children to get inoculated against the virus so that they can prevent transmission to others.