Parents are crying out for information about the safety of vaccinating their children. Vaccine hesitancy, which has not been a hugely significant issue here compared with other countries, is now beginning to raise its head.
ensions and anxiety are simmering as we grapple with how best to protect the youngest in our society.
Last week, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly announced the Covid-19 vaccination programme will be extended to all those aged 12 to 15. Parental consent is needed, unlike for 16 and 17-year-olds, who are deemed old enough to decide for themselves.
These older teens can already register for vaccination if they want and have been encouraged to do so by the HSE.
Dr Ní Dhálaigh supports the vaccine programme for younger children who need parental consent, but said parents need reassurance and they need it now.
“Yes, I would absolutely vaccinate my own children in that age bracket. I’ve read the studies, I am satisfied it is safe, but the HSE really needs to start providing information.
“We need validated information to be provided and accessible to all to counter some of the misinformation out there online.”
Dr Ní Dhálaigh, who is based at Kelly Henry Medical Centre in Castlerea, said her clinic is receiving calls from parents about a range of concerns around vaccinating children.
“Some are vaccination-hesitant when it comes to their kids and just need information.
“Others have vulnerable children with underlying health problems and are eager to find out when and where they can get their child vaccinated.
“What we need, right now, is information in clear and accessible language from the HSE.”
It is not just parents who have questions. Children within the vaccination age bracket have plenty of questions and opinions too.
“There’s a feeling among youngsters that they are being looked at suspiciously as being viral vectors,” Dr Ní Dhálaigh said.
“They want to feel that they are not coming home to granny and grandad and could potentially make them sick. They also want to get back to sports, peer events, their lives.
“I’ve had children visiting the clinic say to me, ‘I want to be vaccinated because my good friend has a health problem and I want them to be safe’. There’s a lot of children in Ireland with a real sense of civic responsibility, which is great to see.”
This all comes against a backdrop of rising infection rates among those who are fully vaccinated due to the emergence of new Covid variants, including Delta, which is currently causing the most significant problems worldwide.
“Thankfully, the vast majority of fully vaccinated people who are getting Covid are not becoming very ill, but there is another major issue here,” Dr Ní Dhálaigh said.
“So far, Covid is not making too many children worldwide particularly sick, although there are instances of long Covid in children as well as other medical issues. Generally, Covid tends to most adversely affect older people and those with underlying health conditions, as we know from the data.
“But the more the virus circulates, the more potential it has to develop new strains. And we are continuously seeing the emergence of new strains. The way new strains mutate is directly linked to the more the virus is allowed to circulate. By keeping the circulation of the virus down, that reduces its potential to mutate.
“That’s why vaccination generally is so important. But it is not unreasonable the most devastating thing could yet happen — the emergence of a strain of Covid that could be more damaging to children than adults. That’s why vaccination, and not just in Ireland, needs to be equitable worldwide.
“This is what Dr Mike Ryan from the World Health Organisation keeps saying. This is the key to supressing new mutant variants and protecting our children. But at the moment there is hesitancy out there among some parents about vaccinating their children, and I can understand why.”
The Government has said an information campaign specifically for parents on the benefits of vaccinating children is in the pipeline. However, with vaccinations likely to begin this month for children aged 12 to 15, this information campaign “can’t come soon enough”, said Aileen Hickie, the CEO of Parentline.
In the past fortnight, it appears medics and parents’ groups are the ones bearing the brunt of an onslaught of parental anxiety around this sensitive and emotive issue.
“We have started getting plenty of calls from parents who are slightly concerned about it. They just don’t have enough information right now,” Ms Hickie said.
“The vast majority of people contacting us want to have their children vaccinated, but they have lots and lots of questions. We don’t have the answers. But time is of the essence for the correct information to be provided.”
With the re-opening of schools in five weeks’ time, the issue is beginning to loom large.
“There is a lot of fear — that’s the primary feeling we are picking up on right now. Parents want their kids to be able to go back to school safely,” Ms Hickie said.
“But they have concerns about the future effect of the safety of vaccines on their children. They are asking us, ‘Where are studies showing it’s safe?’ They want reassurance.”
A website “could easily be set up” with a Frequently Asked Questions section for parents, pointing to accredited studies that outline clearly the benefits of vaccinating children for their own sake as well as older family members, Ms Hickie said.
“This information needs to be there before the portal opens up for children. Before the horse bolts, so to speak. What we are hearing loud and clear from the parents is they need a forum to address their fears and assuage their concerns.”
The Government has said there is no suggestion vaccination will be a prerequisite for children to re-enter schools.
However, the return to the classroom is a major talking point, especially considering children are not permitted at present to mix in groups indoors at summer camp, yet it is deemed safe for them to return to school within a few weeks.
“No one wants their children to miss out on the return to education. Parents understand that the risk of their child becoming sick if they get the virus is low. But they don’t want them to spread it to other people, who could still be susceptible despite being vaccinated,” Ms Hickie said.
“The incidence of fully-vaccinated people getting Covid is on the rise. Transmission was low in children, but now the Delta variant has changed everything.”
What of the potential to vaccinate all children of school-going age from age five?
“The trials confirming it is safe for much younger children aren’t completed,” Dr Ní Dhálaigh said.
“But you would have to presume we are going in that direction. The one thing we do know about Covid is that it keeps having the ability to threaten us and potentially people of all ages.”