Give those kids a jab.. and make it snappy
Now, I’m an enthusiastic vaccine supporter and I’m all for plans to vaccinate 12 to 15-year-olds, a programme which starts tomorrow.
If jabbing the little blighters helps get the spread of this damnable virus under some semblance of control, I’m sold.
Anti-vaxxers make my blood boil. I’ll never support the spreading of their ill-informed and downright ludicrous “theories” based on their own tinpot research (i.e. reading fake news Facebook pages).
I do not accept their “choice” to avoid the needle because such behaviour doesn’t just endanger their own health, it puts others at risk too. Their stupidity kills.
So am I “encouraging” my 15-year-old son to get the vaccine? Absolutely.
And will I criticise any parent who decides not to offer similar direction to their own offspring? Absolutely not.
There will, I’m certain, be mums, dads and guardians who are double-jagged themselves and firmly believe in the adult vaccination programme but who harbour niggling doubts about whether their children should be similarly inoculated.
No wonder. It’s so bloomin’ confusing. More than 12million children across the world have been vaccinated, to no adverse affect. Let’s do it then, right?
Er… the JCVI ( Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation) decided against mass vaccination of the entire age group – even though it was safe to do so – because the health benefits were too small to justify the universal rollout.
Then the Government decided the benefit of reduced disruption to schooling was justification enough for the jag so they overruled the JCVI.
Then we’re told that “children” can make up their own minds – and even overrule the views of their parents – as long as they’re considered competent.
So much overruling that we’re all overwhelmed.
The member of my brood who falls into the affected age category is a strapping 6ft-tall 15-year- old boy who’s built like a full-grown man. When he needed hospital treatment recently, it was almost embarrassing to see him in the children’s ward, feet dangling over the edge of the bed.
When the doctor arrived, my son looked like he could pop the diminutive medic into his pocket. So I reckon his body is well able to cope with the vaccine coursing through it. Would I be more hesitant if he were a small, skinny 12-year- old girl on the edge of puberty? Possibly.
Surely my boy would also pass the “competent” test which allows him to make his own decision on the jag without my approval, given he’s a bright kid and he’s at the upper end of the age range under consideration.
Well, I attempted to discuss the issue with him. He was doodling cartoons on his bare leg with a Biro at the time. Competent, you say? Did he want to have the vaccination? No, ’cause the president of Brazil says it turns people into crocodiles. Clearly this is untrue as my husband, older son and myself have all had the vaccine without turning into reptiles. “Debatable,” he replied.
Then he claimed he wouldn’t take the jab because he’d heard it’s being used by billionaire Bill Gates to implant microchips in human bodies. Probably to take over the world with a robot army.
“Plus, you can end up being controlled by the 5G network,” he added. He’s not competent, he’s complacent.
This was the point I gave up on any attempt at indulgence and resorted to the tried-and-tested mother-knows-best approach.
“Well, you’re getting it anyway,” I said. I know. I’m not proud.
“OK… you should have said that in the first place. I’m trying to listen to the new Kanye West album.”
At the end of the day, it’s not the responsibility of children to protect society, it’s our responsibility to protect them. They need us around, so it’s our social and moral duty as adults to be vaccinated.
As for the kids themselves, may I suggest that mother really does know best.
And you’ll find no judgment here on that.