Risks outweigh any possible COVID vaccine benefits in children and adolescents

Caryn Lipson

January 14, 2024

Increased hospitalizations, deaths from respiratory illness in young children

An ominous report from the CDC shows that children from 6 months to 4 years who were twice vaccinated for COVID-19 were more likely to become ill with a respiratory illness, require hospitalization, receive intensive care, require supplemental oxygen, and die.

As reported by The Vaccine Reaction, the findings were published in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) based on data acquired from the New Vaccine Surveillance Network (NVSN) for children who were treated at emergency departments (EDs) and hospitalized for respiratory illness between July 1, 2022 and Sept. 30, 2023. Of the 6,733 non-vaccinated children, 44% were hospitalized for a respiratory illness, whereas 55% of the 776 children who had received at least two doses, and 281 children who had received one dose of an mRNA vaccine were hospitalized for such illness. The difference, according to Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology at the Yale School of Public Health Dr. Harvey Risch, is statistically significant.

Benefits of vaccines do not outweigh risks

In the same report, the CDC pointed out that mRNA COVID shot doses were 40% "effective in preventing COVID-19-associated ED visits and hospitalization.”

The Vaccine Reaction quoted Risch noting that decreased COVID hospitalizations are more than offset by increased non-COVID hospitalizations:

No one cares whether the vaccines reduce COVID-associated hospitalization if at the same time they increase non-COVID-associated hospitalization.

The data proves the risks

Is Risch correct? How serious is COVID-19 for children?

Data compiled by Statista and Heritage.org (shown below) demonstrate that mortality is extremely low for children (and teens to young adults) and that COVID-19 deaths, although higher in older adults, comprised but a small percentage of all deaths in each age range.

The following chart by Statista shows, as of September 23, 2020, the deaths from COVID-19 from September 2020 through June 14, 2023.

For some perspective, according to Heritage.org, based on CDC data:

. . . through February 17, [2021] 93 percent of COVID-19 deaths nationwide have occurred among those ages 55 or older. Only 0.2 percent were younger than 25. This trend can also be found on the state level.

Its graph (below) shows the number of COVID-19 deaths through February 17, 2021, as a percentage of all deaths per age range.

As is apparent, COVID-19 was not a significant cause of death among children or teens.

Anaphylaxis and heart issues in teens

A study out of Norway, as reported by science reporter and editor Angelo DePalma, Ph.D. for The Defender, shows an increased incidence of anaphylaxis and heart issues in older adolescents following the second COVID-19 mRNA injection.

German Tapia, Ph.D., an epidemiologist with the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH) enrolled “496,432 adolescents born between 2002 and 2009, living in Norway [who were] unvaccinated before the official vaccine approval for this age group” and who received either no vaccine, one dose, or two doses following vaccine approval [between 15-19 years at the time]. Among the most severe reactions he found were anaphylaxis, pericarditis, and myocarditis.

Potentially fatal allergic reaction

Anaphylaxis, an allergic reaction that causes a variety of severe breathing problems and which can be life-threatening, Tapia noted, was seen at a greater than tenfold increase among the twice-vaccinated than among those unvaccinated. Some study participants who reported experiencing anaphylaxis said they had a feeling of doom right before it occurred.

Heart issues not “minor” effects

Tapia found a 427% increase in pericarditis and myocarditis seen up to 28 days after the last dose.

As DePalma explained:

Pericarditis involves inflammation of the pericardium, a fluid-filled sac surrounding heart muscle. Pericarditis symptoms resemble heart attack: pain behind the breastbone or on the left side of the chest, shortness of breath, swollen abdomen and fatigue or weakness.

Pericarditis usually resolves on its own but more serious cases may persist or progress to recurrent or chronic disease. Since Tapia et al.’s study observation window was only two weeks, no conclusions could be drawn on the seriousness of these cases. And aside from citing Israeli and Chinese studies mentioning pericarditis as a “most concerning” side effect, Tapia et al. did not provide any insights.

Myocarditis, or inflammation of heart muscle, is also mainly caused by infections and the symptoms are similar to pericarditis. Myocarditis complications are more serious, though, and include heart failure, irregular heartbeat leading to stroke and heart attack.

Again, Tapia et al.’s narrow observation window did not allow a thorough assessment of heart-related adverse events in this population. The Defender reported that myopericarditis heart damage persisted in 63% of teens for months post-vaccination.

While health officials often refer to post-COVID-19 vaccine myocarditis and pericarditis as “mild” or “transient” (or both), other observers have questioned whether any case of heart damage can be considered clinically insignificant.

DePalma noted that although researchers used high quality data, other issues remained:

They should not have excluded adolescents not vaccinated in 2021.
There were conflicts of interest among 3 of the 13 researchers, which Tapia brushed off as non-material since they didn’t pertain to that study..
Study participants who experienced serious adverse events (there were several other less concerning adverse effects seen among the study population, as well) were diagnosed in a hospital setting.

“Patients already sick enough to seek that level of care would tend to have worse outcomes and hence a higher prevalence of more serious side effects.”

“On the other hand, because vaccines were not mandated in Norway for this age group, Tapia et al. suggested that vaccine-seekers might be healthier to begin with, and therefore already predisposed to experiencing fewer adverse events. This is known as the “healthy vaccine effect.””

FDA suspected anaphylaxis, heart-related adverse events before roll-out

Anaphylaxis, pericarditis, and myocarditis were included in the FDA's safety surveillance list of possible adverse events of the COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. Found on page 17 of its “Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee October 22, 2020 Meeting Presentation,” these were events the agency was planning on watching out for post-roll-out (see image below).

Considering the low risk of death from COVID-19 (as shown in the graphs above), it is questionable how many parents and of age adolescents would have given consent for the vaccine had they known the potential risks.

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