Covid-19: Parents have their say on vaccinating young children
Clockwise from top left: Annmarie O'Neill and her eight-year-old son Luke; Robert Kelly and four-year-old Arya; mother of eight-year-old twins Edel Ryder-Hanrahan; and Emma and Ryan Long. Pictures: Denis Minihane
The decision by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to approve the Pfizer vaccine for primary school children immediately led to speculation on whether parents would want young children to be jabbed.
Ireland is expected to follow the EMA advice and approve the Covid vaccine for children, aged five-11, and the rollout can potentially begin within weeks.
On Friday, vaccines were the hot topic of conversation outside the school gates of Bunscoil Chríost Rí near Turner’s Cross in Cork City.
“We all have to get jabbed, that’s it basically,” said father of three, Colin O’Donoghue.
“My 19-year-old is jabbed, my 14-year-old is jabbed, and my seven-year-old will be getting jabbed too,” he said.
Emma Long also has three children, aged 12, eight and six.
“When it came to the 12-year-old, I said 'grand, no problem', but I think he’s a little bit more able,” she said.
“With the younger two, I’d be concerned because mine are quite small, my youngest is six and I think he mightn’t be resilient enough.
“They will be getting it, but it's just their height and size I'm a bit concerned about,” she said.
Ann Marie O’Neill has two children, Sophie, 13, and Luke, eight.
“Sophie wasn’t pushed about getting it, and I was a bit iffy about it, but then seeing how sick people can get, I have registered her and she is going to get it,” she said.
“The news about Luke’s age group is only just out, but if I’m getting Sophie done I’m getting Luke done, they got all their baby vaccinations anyway, and it’s the right thing to do,” she added.
Robert Kelly’s daughter Arya is only four, but he would still be happy to have her vaccinated if it were approved for her age group.
“I’m vaccinated, it's well researched and developed, and it helps you to avoid getting very ill, so I don’t have any problem with it at all,” he said.
Edel Ryder-Hanrahan is eager to get her eight-year-old twins vaccinated as soon as possible.
“It’s a very simple risk analysis from my point of view,” she said.
“The short and long term risks of Covid are known, as are the risks of vaccination. If you ask me which one is higher I think the risks to children if they get Covid are higher to them than the risks of being vaccinated. That’s it basically,” she added.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
