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0 pointsbcrosby955y ago0 comments

Total COVID deaths for people aged 0-17 in the USA are 246 so far.

That's not that many. Despite my wife and I getting vaccinated, I'm not completely sure what the correct answer is for our kids.

To put those numbers into perspective, more kids die from the flu in any given year (despite vaccination!). And far more kids die from car related accidents, and cars are a daily fact of life here.

I'm also interested in the other longer term effects of COVID on kids, but there doesn't seem to be a lot of information out there about it.

You talk as if it's a clear cut answer. Given the numbers involved I don't see how it can be.

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5 comments · 2 top-level

fastball5y ago· 2 in thread

It is a clear cut answer if you understand what an mRNA vaccine is.

ryankemper5y ago

(Not the one you responded to) I know what an mRNA vaccine is and the only clearcut answer is that "yes, obviously the long-tail risks of mRNA vaccines could outpace the long-tail risk of COVID-19". The statement is also true when you say "...COVID-19 could outpace...mRNA vaccines" as well, if that's not clear.

BTW the "long tail" of COVID-19 in children is totally unproven and the whole "long haulers" phenomenom is likely (a) a small part normal post-viral fatigue which we see with basically any virus, and (b) mostly psychosomatic/psychogenic illness.

fastball5y ago

That uncertainty is exactly the point. It's possible that the cure could be worse than the disease, but we have every reason to believe that it won't be in the long-term, and that in fact the long-term prospects from COVID-19 are probably much worse than any of the vaccines. And in the short-term the question is decided quite clearly.

So when faced with the choice of vaccine or virus, it should be a foregone conclusion.

waterheater5y ago· 1 in thread

Here are some more relative risk assessments as well as stronger statistics when you're comparing to deaths by COVID-19:

A college-enrolled 18-24 year old is 3.67x more likely to die of suicide [1][2][3].

A college-enrolled 18-24 year old is 6.08x more likely to die of alcohol [3][4].

A child (0-14 years) is 6.75x more likely to die by motor vehicles [5].

A child (0-14 years) is 3.93x more likely to die of drowning in a pool [6].

All fatalities are compared to present CDC numbers [7].

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3809451/

[2] https://www.statista.com/statistics/183995/us-college-enroll...

[3] https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d18/tables/dt18_302.60.a...

[4] https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sh...

[5] https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/historical-fatalit...

[6] https://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/water-safety/w...

[7] https://data.cdc.gov/NCHS/Provisional-COVID-19-Death-Counts-...

fastball5y ago

Do you have a point, or?

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

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5 comments · 2 top-level

fastball5y ago· 2 in thread

It is a clear cut answer if you understand what an mRNA vaccine is.

ryankemper5y ago

fastball5y ago

So when faced with the choice of vaccine or virus, it should be a foregone conclusion.

waterheater5y ago· 1 in thread

Here are some more relative risk assessments as well as stronger statistics when you're comparing to deaths by COVID-19:

A college-enrolled 18-24 year old is 3.67x more likely to die of suicide [1][2][3].

A college-enrolled 18-24 year old is 6.08x more likely to die of alcohol [3][4].

A child (0-14 years) is 6.75x more likely to die by motor vehicles [5].

A child (0-14 years) is 3.93x more likely to die of drowning in a pool [6].

All fatalities are compared to present CDC numbers [7].

[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3809451/

[2] https://www.statista.com/statistics/183995/us-college-enroll...

[3] https://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d18/tables/dt18_302.60.a...

[4] https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sh...

[5] https://injuryfacts.nsc.org/motor-vehicle/historical-fatalit...

[6] https://www.cdc.gov/homeandrecreationalsafety/water-safety/w...

[7] https://data.cdc.gov/NCHS/Provisional-COVID-19-Death-Counts-...

fastball5y ago

Do you have a point, or?

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse