When We Start to Vaccinate The Children Against COVID-19: The Rise of #ScreenB4Vaccine.

#ScreenB4Vaccine will be critically important when COVID-19 vaccines are offered to our children. Because indiscriminate vaccination of the recently infected or naturally immune in this pandemic is highly likely to be an error in clinical and ethical judgement.

We all know it’s coming.

And it’s coming whether or not we agree with it from a moral or scientific perspective.

They will soon be mandating children to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

It’s already happening on some college campuses.

Recently, I wrote a letter of warning to the leadership of Rutgers University in New jersey about their irrational and unsafe mandate that all students be indiscriminately vaccinated against COVID-19. You can read it HERE.

I personally don’t think it is a terrible idea to vaccinate children against COVID-19 - IF it’s done rationally, safely and after confirming the vaccine’s efficacy in generating neutralizing IgG antibodies and priming T-cells in clinical trials.

Certainly I don’t think any family should be forced to vaccinate their children. This is a violation of the medical ethical principle of patient autonomy. And, I believe forced vaccination is medical malpractice.

Every sane parent in America should want to make sure their child is maximally protected — both from a potential natural COVID-19 infection, and from unnecessary or potentially harmful vaccination.

As before, it is my opinion and prognostication that indiscriminate vaccination of children with recent SARS-CoV-2 infections is unnecessary and potentially dangerous.

And, it is a certainty that by the time the COVID-19 children’s vaccine is available, many millions of kids will have been already naturally infected in this pandemic — I am of the opinion that indiscriminate vaccination in the vast majority of these kids will be unnecessary or dangerous.

I say this for two reasons:

1. Many, if not most, previously infected children are naturally immune. Vaccinating these already immune kids is medically unnecessary and poses a risk of vaccine reactions in some.
2. At least some kids with recent infections might be at risk of harm from a vaccine induced immune response. Because their tissues will contain antigenic remnants from their natural infections, which can get targeted by a reactivated immune response.

This is why I know that the safest and most rational approach to vaccinating people in the midst of outbreak, including children and young adults, is to use a #ScreenB4Vaccine approach to avoid indiscriminate vaccination of the previously infected and naturally immune.

As colleges and universities begin to mandate vaccinations — and as schools start to mandate vaccines for younger kids in the coming few months, it will fall on parents to protect their children.

I will repeat that indiscriminately vaccinating naturally immune or recently infected children and young adults is unnecessary or potentially dangerous, respectively.

Every parent should demand #ScreenB4Vaccine before subjecting their child to a COVID-19 vaccination. Specifically because we are in the midst of pandemic when so may children will likely have been recently infected.

I write here for the public record and so that every parent considering vaccination of their child is aware of what is, in my opinion, a risk of harm.

In defense of public health in the United States and globally,

Hooman Noorchashm MD, PhD.