The Food and Drug Administration Authority’s approval of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine for children has stirred a set of new questions in the minds of the U.S citizens. Consequently, unanswered questions about the efficacy and authenticity of this vaccine have increased the hesitancy of parents in getting their children vaccinated.
In light of the situation outlined above, scientists and other medical experts have been informing the public about the countless benefits of the dose for the younger generation. These Covid-19 vaccines have a new mRNA platform for immunization, but the main working is similar to other vaccines. They help ensure the greater safety of people against the virus.
Several parents have expressed a plethora of concerns regarding the Covid-19 vaccine such as it disrupting their children’s puberty process or affecting fertility in the future. Medical experts have taken up these worries, and have tried to provide substantial information to assure them of the safety of the Covid-19 vaccine for children.
According to gynecologist Stacey De-Lin, the ‘particles’ in the vaccine dose do not cause any long-term problems, such as “autoimmune diseases or impacts on fertility or pregnancy.” Dr. De-Lin further elaborated on how there is no solid link between Covid-19 vaccines and fertility and that any information supporting this association is unverified and false.
The platforms that have been used to develop Covid-19 vaccines have been studied in great depth and detail. After extensive research and study, experts have concluded that vaccines don’t affect any genetic properties when they enter our bodies. Most traditional vaccines make use of a cold virus to strengthen the immunity of individuals.
However, vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer incorporate a material known as mRNA, which only guides the body’s cells to make a protein that will ensure protection if exposed to the virus. The Johnson and Johnson vaccine also works on a similar methodology, giving genetic material through a viral vector. The way these vaccines work has nothing to do with DNA disruption. These covid-19 vaccines don’t affect DNA at all as our DNA lies in closed cells, and the mRNA cannot come anywhere near that.
Dr. De-Lin has supported this theory, declaring that the mRNA vaccines have “no way to enter the nucleus of the cell itself,” and hence, they cannot alter DNA. Moreover, Dr. Peter Hotez, a professor of pediatrics and molecular virology, has affirmed there is no “plausible mechanism” by which mRNA can disrupt DNA and impact adolescent development.
As far as women’s fertility is concerned, Dr. Bracho-Sanchez, a pediatrician and assistant professor of pediatrics at Columbia University Irving Medical Center has confirmed that the Covid-19 vaccine does not consist of any property that interferes with fertility or puberty. Several studies of expectant women go to show that Covid-19 vaccines do not affect fertility or hormonal processes. Thus, if women are trying to conceive or plan to conceive in the future, vaccination is safe for them, as noted by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dr. Bracho-Sanchez herself is a testament to the facts outlined above- She received the first shot of the Covid-19 vaccine when trying to get pregnant, and the second when she was pregnant. She declared that her mind was never plagued by such harmful thoughts because she “thankfully understands the science.”
