All anti-vaxers aren't the same.
If someone is wary of a new vaccine because we haven't had the opportunity to run long-term studies on it, that's one thing.
If someone holds the opinion of Jenny McCarthy over the entirety of science, then that's another.
Completely agree.
On another board I frequent, there's a raging debate over whether or not parents should be vaccinating their sub-13-year-old kids. Some parents that are happy to get the vaccine for themselves and assume whatever risks there might be, because they are likely lower risks than getting COVID itself, are hesitant to vaccinate their young children.
The truth is that it IS a new vaccine that was fast-tracked, and the Moderna and Pfizer ARE new vaccine technologies where we just don't have any long term data to tell us what the effects might be, even on adults, much less children whose bodies are still growing and changing rapidly at those ages.
And because the risks of serious harm from COVID for young children are low, plus the risks of them transmitting the virus to others are also low, the case for vaccinating them is not quite as compelling, even compared to other viruses like flu which are more harmful to children than COVID has been, thus far.
My kids are 13 and 11 and after a discussion with their doctors, I'll get them vaccinated when they are eligible. But if my kids were 6 or 8? I'd likely pause and wait for more data.