The Food and Drug Administration on Sunday last week expanded emergency use authorization for the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine to children aged six to 11, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices followed with its recommendation on Wednesday.
The recommendation sparked wide discussion, as many parents are worried that the Moderna vaccine might not be safe or necessary for children. Research has shown that children rarely experience severe illness from COVID-19.
Committee convener Lee Ping-ing (李秉穎) said a week earlier that the COVID-19 fatality rate in US children is about one per 1 million, but the rate of serious adverse reactions post-vaccination is only about 0.1 per 1 million, and the fatality rate from anaphylaxis and myocarditis after COVID-19 vaccination was nearly zero.
Although the risk of severe COVID-19 is very low in children, dozens could die if the local outbreak expands, Lee said on Wednesday, adding that parents should weigh the risk of rare adverse reactions and the risk of severe illness or death from infection.
Opposition parties’ inconsistent positions on the government’s disease prevention policies could add to parents’ anxieties. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) earlier this month questioned whether class suspensions could harm students’ right to education, but later condemned the easing of suspensions as not caring about the safety of unvaccinated students, and demanded that vaccinations for children be allowed.
After the committee’s recommendation, the KMT accused the government of treating children as “lab rats” for the Moderna vaccine, citing Japan, South Korea and the US as countries that have not approved the brand for children. It urged the government to instead authorize the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children aged five to 11.
The Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) had also urged the government to authorize the Moderna vaccine for children, but after the committee’s announcement, it echoed the KMT’s claim that the CECC was using children as “lab rats.” The party said the Moderna vaccine contains five times as much mRNA material as the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which worries parents about adverse reactions.
Some vaccine experts and physicians have addressed public concerns, explaining that the Moderna vaccine offers longer-lasting protection than Pfizer’s shot, but is more likely to cause mild adverse reactions. Others have said that vaccinating children against COVID-19 not only protects them from severe illness or death, but also helps protect vulnerable or elderly relatives.
A report published by the US CDC on Friday showed that among 397 children hospitalized with the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 from Dec. 19 last year to Feb. 28, 87 percent were unvaccinated, 30 percent had no underlying medical condition, and 19 percent were admitted to an intensive care unit.
Many parents are naturally cautious when making decisions that could affect their children’s health, but the government could do more to inform and convince parents, allowing them to understand that the choice to vaccinate or not has risks either way, so they should carefully weigh this important health decision.
The government could also provide analysis based on scientific data, be honest and clear about the possible risks and correct any misinformation that circulates so that parents can make well-informed choices about vaccinating their children.
To The Honorable Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜): We would like to extend our sincerest regards to you for representing Taiwan at the inauguration of US President Donald Trump on Monday. The Taiwanese-American community was delighted to see that Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan speaker not only received an invitation to attend the event, but successfully made the trip to the US. We sincerely hope that you took this rare opportunity to share Taiwan’s achievements in freedom, democracy and economic development with delegations from other countries. In recent years, Taiwan’s economic growth and world-leading technology industry have been a source of pride for Taiwanese-Americans.
Next week, the nation is to celebrate the Lunar New Year break. Unfortunately, cold winds are a-blowing, literally and figuratively. The Central Weather Administration has warned of an approaching cold air mass, while obstinate winds of chaos eddy around the Legislative Yuan. English theologian Thomas Fuller optimistically pointed out in 1650 that “it’s always darkest before the dawn.” We could paraphrase by saying the coldest days are just before the renewed hope of spring. However, one must temper any optimism about the damage being done in the legislature by the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), under
To our readers: Due to the Lunar New Year holiday, from Sunday, Jan. 26, through Sunday, Feb. 2, the Taipei Times will have a reduced format without our regular editorials and opinion pieces. From Tuesday to Saturday the paper will not be delivered to subscribers, but will be available for purchase at convenience stores. Subscribers will receive the editions they missed once normal distribution resumes on Sunday, Feb. 2. The paper returns to its usual format on Monday, Feb. 3, when our regular editorials and opinion pieces will also be resumed.
This year would mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the India Taipei Association (ITA) in Taipei and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) in New Delhi. From the vision of “Look East” in the 1990s, India’s policy has evolved into a resolute “Act East,” which complements Taiwan’s “New Southbound Policy.” In these three decades, India and Taiwan have forged a rare partnership — one rooted in shared democratic values, a commitment to openness and pluralism, and clear complementarities in trade and technology. The government of India has rolled out the red carpet for Taiwanese investors with attractive financial incentives
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