Replay: What parents should know about COVID vaccines for 5-11 year-olds | Plazas

David Plazas, Nashville Tennessean
·2 min read

A pediatrician wrote Tennessean.com's most well-read opinion essay of November.

Dr. Susan Hata, a Vanderbilt University School of Medicine graduate, wrote an extensive and well-documented guest column, encouraging parents to get their children the COVID-19 vaccine now that 5-to-11 year-olds are allowed to be vaccinated.

"Contracting COVID-19 is not trivial for a child," wrote Hata, who practices medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and teaches at Harvard Medical School.

The data is often not enough for some people, however, and, in our polarized era, scientific expertise has come become politicized.

States, including Tennessee, have rolled back COVID restrictions, but leaders, including Gov. Bill Lee, acknowledge the vaccine is one of the best tools to combat COVID-19.

Yet, it is natural for people to have their misgivings, fears and questions, since science has advanced so quickly and federal guidance on masks and vaccines has not always been consistent.

Moreover, while the Tennessee General Assembly recently forbade schools from mandating masks except under emergency conditions, the new law is being challenged in federal court. The legal battle is creating widespread confusion and consternation.

That is why The Tennessean is hosting a virtual panel in partnership with the Metro Nashville Public Schools Parent Advisory Council at 6:00 p.m. CST on Thursday, Dec. 2, to address concerns and answer questions about the vaccine as well as wearing masks in school.

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Here's who is on the panel

The Tennessean previously partnered with MNPS's PAC to present a live broadcast on Aug. 3 about safety and the return to school.

In the August panel, pediatrician Dr. Rosemary Hunter answered medical questions and the panelists included school board members Christiane Buggs and Emily Masters.

For the December panel, Hunter will return and join the following panelists:

  • Dr. Buddy Creech, a pediatrics professor and director of the Vanderbilt Vaccine Research Program

  • Tene Franklin, a Pearl Cohn Cluster parent representative

  • David Maxwell, a Hillwood Cluster parent representative

  • Rachael Anne Elrod, MNPS school board member, District 2

I will be serving as the panel moderator.

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How to watch and ask questions

According to the Parent Advisory Council: "The primary goal of this event is to provide information to our MNPS parents so they can make sound decisions for their children, families and school community."

You will be able to watch the broadcast on Tennessean.com in this column or on The Tennessean's YouTube channel.

We invite you to watch and ask productive questions and comments.

Send me any questions beforehand to dplazas@tennessean.com.

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David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee. He is an editorial board member of The Tennessean. He hosts the Tennessee Voices videocast and curates the Tennessee Voices and Latino Tennessee Voices newsletters. Call him at (615) 259-8063, email him at dplazas@tennessean.com or tweet to him at @davidplazas.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: COVID vaccine: What parents should know about innoculating children