| In a non-bizarro world, the only question adults would have about coronavirus vaccines for themselves would be "which one?," not "should I?" When it comes to vaccinating children, though, that's a trickier matter for some parents. Now that the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for 5- to 11-year-olds, parents are weighing whether to get the shot for kids, the great majority of whom tend either to show no symptoms when infected or come bouncing back from what's no worse than a mild flu. But there are children who get terribly ill with covid-19, and about 700 in the United States have died. Thus, the parental dilemma. Luckily, Ashish K. Jha, the dean of Brown University's School of Public Health, is here with a yes-vaccinate-your-kids message parents are likely to find reassuring. She draws on the example of the polio vaccine for children in the 1950s. Polio, too, didn't do much harm, if any, to the great majority of children infected; only a tiny minority died. Yet parents rushed almost en masse with their children seeking Jonas Salk's miracle. "If today's misinformation, politicization and anti-vaccine sentiment existed in the United States in the 1950s," Jha writes, "would the polio vaccine have received the same level of uptake?" That's grim to contemplate. Let's focus instead on the cheerier notion of parents today showing the wisdom of that earlier generation.  (Harvey Georges/AP) What would have happened if disinformation on vaccines had been around in the 1950s? By Ashish K. Jha ● Read more » | | | | Ideas have consequences. By Marc A. Thiessen ● Read more » | | | | Without the dramatic increase in funding the Biden administration is calling for, the IRS can't adequately provide taxpayer services or catch tax cheats. By Charles P. Rettig ● Read more » | | | The president cannot afford to appear passive on this pocketbook issue. By Eugene Robinson ● Read more » | | | | Some American men are truly struggling. Hawley's blaming the left won't help. By Christine Emba ● Read more » | | | | I don't have a name for the university yet — this is where you, the wealthy donor, come in! By Alexandra Petri ● Read more » | | | | Judicial independence is as fragile as it is important. By Mitch McConnell ● Read more » | | | For half a century, as the Republican Party has stoked White grievance, the Democrats' answer has been hiding in plain sight. The Opinions Essay ● By Perry Bacon Jr. ● Read more » | | | | It's not enough to tout their policies, and attacking liberal activists won't help. By Paul Waldman ● Read more » | | | | The Build Back Better Bill won't increase inflation. But if all Manchin wants is an excuse, that won't matter. By Paul Waldman ● Read more » | | | |
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