San Francisco has been condemned for mandating COVID vaccines for children - even though no one under the age of 20 has been killed by the...
San Francisco has been condemned for mandating COVID vaccines for children - even though no one under the age of 20 has been killed by the virus in the city.
Figures from San Francisco's official COVID tracker show that out of the 664 citizens that have succumbed to the disease since it surfaced in the states nearly two years ago, none have been aged 21 or younger.
What's more, only 1,529 kids in the city have come down with the virus in that span.
'San Francisco is going to mandate 5-11 year olds have the vaccine to participate in society,' one Twitter user wrote Thursday morning, in response to the mandate announced Tuesday.
'Are parents going to have to carry birth certificates with them to restaurants and grocery stores to prove their 4 year olds are ineligible?'
San Francisco has been furiously condemned over its plan to mandate COVID vaccines for children aged five to 11 - despite the fact that no one under the age of 20 has been killed by the virus in the city. Figures from San Francisco's official COVID tracker show that out of the 664 citizens that have succumbed to the disease, none have been aged 21 or older
According to the latest data from the CDC, fewer than 700 Americans under the age of 18 have died from the virus since recording began in April 2020, with only 206 of them being under the age of five.
CDC figures show there have been 1.9 million recorded cases among children aged 5-11 between March 2020 and October 10, although the true figure is likely far higher, because so many young children will have experienced mild or no symptoms, and won't have been tested.
But despite those figures, children aged five to 11 will still be forced to prove they are vaccinated if they want to enter restaurants and entertainment venues in San Francisco, officials said Tuesday.
The city became the first in the country to impose strict vaccine mandates for indoor venues in August for all children and adults over 12.
Now, city officials plan to extend such requirements to children as young as five and made the announcement at a town hall meeting Tuesday, the same day the CDC granted emergency approval for that age group to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech shot.
The CDC's decision to approve the vaccine for the five to 11 age group has caused a storm of controversy nationwide, with opponents pointing to the fact there is little evidence to suggest vaccinating young children is necessary.
'San Francisco wants to mandate COVID vaccines for children as young as 5 years-old to attend public events,' another social media user wrote Wednesday.
The user then noted: 'San Francisco hasn’t had a single COVID death in any person under the age of 20.'
Another concerned commentator added: 'This is the most draconian vaccine passport system anywhere in the United States or Europe.'
'If you don't feel safe sitting in a coffee shop unless the five-year-old across the room is vaccinated,' the user continued, 'you should stay home.'
Also taking to Twitter to criticize the mandate was Fox News contributor David Webb, who questioned the progressive city's priorities by implementing such a policy.
'In #SanFrancisco children between the ages of 5 and 11 have to prove who they are to get a #vaccine so they can enter a building,' the host of Fox Nation's Reality Check wrote Thursday morning.
'But #illegalaliens can now permanently #vote when many can’t prove like an American or a lawfully present person who they are.
'Makes sense.'
Data shows Covid poses a low risk to the age group, with children accounting for less than 0.1 percent of the more than 750,000 Covid-related deaths in America.
The decision means the US becomes one of the first countries in the world to officially approve jabs for this age group, with scientists in Britain warning officials there against 'blindly' following America and recommending the jab to age group.
There have been more than 1.9 million cases of Covid-19 among five- to 11-year-olds in the United States, and more than 8,300 hospitalizations, more than 2,300 cases of MIS-C (pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome), and around 100 deaths.
City officials made the announcement the same day the CDC granted emergency approval of the PFizer-BioNTech for that age group. Above, a child received the shot Wednesday in Los Angeles
Polls suggest many parents are not likely to have their kids vaccinated, with one poll finding around a third would 'definitely not'.
A further third said in the poll they would 'wait and see' and five percent said they would 'only if required'. Meanwhile, just 27 percent of parents questioned said they would get their children vaccinated 'right away.'
San Francisco Health Officer Susan Philip said the city would give children roughly two months to get fully vaccinated before they must show their vaccination passports or be turned away from local establishments.
San Francisco plans to mandate children aged 5 to 11 show proof of vaccination to enter indoor venues. San Francisco Health Officer Susan Philip made the announcement at a town hall meeting via Zoom on Tuesday
Five-year-old Alahna Alleyne is comforted by her Father Samuel Alleyne after she received the children's dose of the Pfizer Covid vaccine from RN Susan Santner at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles Wednesday morning
‘We definitely want to wait and make sure children have an opportunity to get vaccinated,' she said.
'That will happen no sooner than about eight weeks after the vaccine is available to kids, so there will be a limited time in which there will not be those requirements in our plan.'
The health professional then added: 'At some point, five to 11 year olds will also have to show proof of vaccination to access some of those same settings.'
Vaccinations for children in that age group started in California the day after the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices unanimously voted 14-0 to recommend the pediatric vaccine.
CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky then signed off on the vote, meaning that approximately 28 million children in the US are now eligible for the shots.
It was the final step in the process that will allow injections in young children to begin this week in the United States, with President Joe Biden issuing a statement calling the decision 'a turning point' in the battle against Covid-19 and said they had secured enough vaccines for every child in America.
The decision means the US becomes one of the first countries in the world to officially approve jabs for this age group, with scientists in Britain warning officials against 'blindly' following America and recommending the jab to young children.
China has reportedly started rolling out its own vaccines to three-year-old children, and Chile is vaccinating children aged six and older. Israel, meanwhile, is expected to follow the US' lead now the CDC has approved the jabs.
Bahrain approved Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 3-11 from Oct. 27, while on Nov. 2, the Gulf state approved the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use for children aged between 5 and 11 years.
However, these countries are currently the exception, with countries still weighing up the risks and benefits of the decision. Most are only vaccinating children aged 12 and upwards.
Children in the age group who are vaccinated are given a third of the dose that adults receive and, like the adult inoculation, make two appointments 21 days apart.
The lower dose was chosen to minimize side effects and still produce strong immunity, Pfizer says, with studies showing that it is about 91 per cent effective against Covid.
Five year-old Renan Rojas sits on his mom, Daniela Cantano's lap, as he receives the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine from registered nurse Jillian at Rady's Children's hospital vaccination clinic in San Diego, California, U.S., November 3, 2021
Wren Nagata, 7, of Pasadena grimaces as he receives his COVID-19 vaccine from Jacqueline Valdez during an event kicking off coronavirus vaccinations for children age 5-11 at Eugene A. Obregon Park in Los Angeles on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021
Children who are vaccinated are given a third of the dose that adults receive. Above, a child was vaccinated Wednesday in Los Angeles
Officials from the San Francisco Department of Public Health on Wednesday confirmed the plan and noted that children wouldn’t be required to show a valid form of ID.
‘As with children 12-17 who may not have personal identification, we will follow the same approach with the younger kids such that they would not be penalized for not having an ID,' a spokesperson from the department wrote in an email to Politico.
San Francisco’s requirement for children would be the first of its kind and the city does not require children to show proof of vaccination to enter school buildings.
The Los Angeles Unified School District, which requires children 12 and up to be vaccinated, announced this week that it does not intend to include children aged five to 11 in its school vaccine mandate just yet.
Governor Gavin Newsom's planned vaccine mandate for children in schools will not take effect until the FDA grants full approval for each age group.
Bernadette Rosselli, a local mother, told Fox News that the mandate was ‘absolutely ridiculous.’
She said, ‘Parents are concerned and rightly so. I think that it’s important that we take the time to make sure that it’s gonna be safe, especially when they’re at such a low rate of risk. It’s really not necessary to rush into this. Let’s give it a little time.’
Many parents have been undecided on vaccinating their children because kids rarely get severely ill and make up less than 0.1 percent of all Covid deaths in the U.S., according to the CDC.
Dr. Houman Hemmati noted the low infection rates in an interview with Fox News and said, ‘With vaccines, as with any drug, there’s a calculation that has to be made of risk, benefit and need.'
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