WASHINGTON: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a lethal effect on adults in the United States for two years, while largely sparing children, adding to the grim statistics.
But the rapid spread of the Omicron version caused a record number of pediatric infections and hospitalizations in the country, and anti-vaccination misinformation that tells parents the shots are dangerous is adding to the risk.
Young people are less likely to die from COVID-19. Shots greatly reduce the chance of serious illness, and vaccinated mothers can provide protection to their children, but vaccine hesitancy has left both parents and children vulnerable.
From concerns that the shots were developed too early, to false claims that the jabs might affect future fertility, Phoenix Children's Hospital physician Wasim Ballan said combating misinformation became part of his job. Is.
"Unfortunately, there are times when we are spending time with a family to discuss these things when the child is already in the hospital," he said of the problem.
Parents need to understand that vaccines are "the most important tool for protection", especially in children to avoid multisystem inflammatory syndrome, a rare and dangerous complication that can follow a mild COVID-19 infection. Is.
Only 27% of children aged five to 11 years in the United States have received their first dose of vaccine. The pandemic reached 914 children hospitalized per day this month, dramatically from the previous peak of 342 in September 2021.
protection against pregnancy
Texas Children's Hospital in Houston reported 12 infants in intensive care with COVID-19 in the first week of January 2022.
Babies are too young for the COVID-19 shot, but Katherine Gray, MD, physician of maternal-fetal medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital, said research increasingly shows that vaccination during pregnancy can safely transmit antibodies to the baby. is transferred, providing limited protection.
Expectant mothers have also hesitated to get the shot after being taken out of initial clinical trials.
Gray is among those monitoring the situation. The data "have found no safety indication" to date, she said, adding that there is "a lot of confidence" in telling patients that the shot is safe during pregnancy for mother and baby.
"If they really want to protect their babies, then vaccination is the thing that will protect them the most at this point in time."
Health agencies around the world say so, but social media are taking advantage of an initial lack of data in messaging against the vaccine. Posts on Facebook and Twitter claimed that stillbirths increased after pregnant people were pushed to get vaccinated, even though going unprotected against the disease is at greater risk.
Epidemiologists Carla DeSisto and Sasha Ellington from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the data on 1.2 million US births shows "there is no evidence that stillbirth rates are higher overall during the pandemic."
But her research revealed the risks of contracting the virus while pregnant.
The researchers said by email, "Compared to those pregnant without COVID-19, those pregnant with COVID-19 are at increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including preterm birth and stillbirth. Huh."
'unvaccinated milk'
Breastfeeding has also been a target of misinformation, with claims that babies from a vaccinated mother have had rashes or even death when they are breastfed.
The Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine recommends vaccination for those who are breast-feeding and says there is no reason to stop breastfeeding while receiving the vaccine.
The group's moderators told AFP that misinformation has become increasingly common in private Facebook groups where parents join to share and sell breast milk. In one of the largest such groups, Bethany Bristow said she was intrigued by requests for "unvaccinated milk."
The New York mother, along with her fellow moderators, decided to ban such requests, and the rules for her group of more than 10,500 parents now say: "Advertising or requesting vaccine-free milk will make you, your puts children and the community at risk."
Studies are finding specific benefits of milk from a vaccinated mother, according to Laura Ward, MD, co-director of the Center for Breastfeeding Medicine at Cincinnati Children's Hospital.
"Antibodies have been detected in the breast milk of vaccinated lactating women. This means that breastfed infants may have some protection against COVID-19 if their mother receives the vaccine," she said. said.
Gray agreed. "Breast milk is loaded with antibodies based on a person's prior exposure to both vaccines and infections. Those things don't pose a risk to babies, they're actually helpful in protecting them," she said.
"Any concerns or unknown pieces about the vaccine are dwarfed by the risk of COVID."