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With the start of the 2021-22 school year just a few short weeks away, less than a quarter of Northeast Michigan's young people eligible for a coronavirus vaccination have received one, News staff writer Crystal Nelson reported on Monday.
That concerns us.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and U.S. Food and Drug Administration have confirmed COVID-19 shots are safe and effective for kids at least 12 years old. Though some kids have developed complications after receiving the vaccine, the risks of contracting COVID-19 outweigh the risks associated with the vaccine, public health officials say.
The same is true for other regular vaccinations students should receive, such as the measles vaccine.
Failure to inoculate our kids can put other kids at risk, as we saw in the 2019 outbreaks of measles in Southeast Michigan.
We understand many parents' reservations about vaccinating their children, both against the coronavirus and other ailments.
But the science is clear: Vaccines are safe and effective, and we urge anyone with a child eligible to receive the vaccine to protect their kids and their kids' classmates.
(THE ALPENA NEWS)