The pandemic ‘fear porn’ must stop

The Seattle Times (via the Washington Post) published more pandemic ‘fear porn’ this week under the ridiculous headline, “What can vaccinated kids safely do? What about summer camp? Experts answer parenting pandemic questions“.

The headline is bad enough, but the advice is just as terrible. As more balanced doctors (and some of the people in the Post piece aren’t even doctors) have written:

If you’re agonizing about whether to have your young child vaccinated against Covid-19, be reassured: The risk is extremely low either way.”

In other words, unless your child has underlying health conditions, there’s no point in distinguishing between vaccinated and unvaccinated kids when discussing how to navigate endemic COVID-19. This is especially the case when studies in Washington State and internationally show that unvaccinated kids are as safe as adults as young as 30 who are vaccinated. Vaccinated adults are generally going about their lives, and all our kids should too.

In November, I took my daughter to a 6th grade daddy/daughter campout and weeks later I took my son to a 2nd grade daddy/son one. On each campout, 20+ kids were packed into their own cabin, they stayed up late and had a blast. It was great for their social development and mental health. The authors of the Washington Post piece might be surprised to learn they’re all still alive today and so are their dads.

This unhinged fear must stop. It’s precisely why some kids, as Kyle Smith has noted, have been known to burst into tears, worried they might die when they’ve tested positive for COVID-19. These Post “experts” are so blind to the fact that, while professing to give health advice, they’re creating an incredibly unhealthy environment for parents to be raising kids in.