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Dori: Why are they jabbing junior? Just follow the money

Nov 5, 2021, 1:31 PM | Updated: Nov 8, 2021, 7:54 am

Children vaccine eligibility, Pfizer...

(AP Photo/Noah Berger)

(AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Listen to or watch the new Pfizer COVID-19 advertising campaign promoting vaccines among 5 to 11 year-olds, and it might make you sick.

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Children – some too young to read – are being touted as “superheroes” in commercials for being the first in their age group to get the Pfizer vaccine.

Don’t get me wrong: The vaccine has been great for older people, and those with health-compromised conditions make them especially vulnerable to dying from COVID.

But there is no statistical reason why most children, 5-11 years old, need a giant pharmaceutical company to inject this into their body. There is no public health, medical, or mathematical reason why children need this. And yet, Pfizer is telling kids that if they want to be a “superhero” – if they want to show their courage, their bravery, their ability to try new things – then they need this shot.

In San Francisco, it is expected that with new “jabs for juniors” available, schools may soon require children to be vaccinated before they can attend classes. Imagine kindergartners needing a government vaccine card before they can run around on the school playground.

So why is it so important, so vital, so urgent for kiddos to get the shot?

As always, start by following the money. Currently, Pfizer is the only company authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to distribute the COVID vaccine for 5-11 year-olds. Moderna is not.

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When the market closed Wednesday, Moderna stock was worth $342 per share. After hours, Moderna released third quarter revenues of $5 billion – more than 20% short of what was expected. On Thursday, its stock price plunged, closing at $282 per share. In a single day, Moderna lost nearly $25 billion in company value.

Meanwhile, Pfizer’s third quarter earnings were $2 billion more than what was forecast. Why? Right now, Pfizer is the only company authorized to give its vaccine to children as young as 5.

Parents have a tough choice to make: Let junior get the jab and trust them to the same company that pushed the opioid epidemic on us – or resist the vax and risk being a pint-sized social outcast.

Listen to the Dori Monson Show weekday afternoons from noon – 3 p.m. on KIRO Radio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.

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Dori: Why are they jabbing junior? Just follow the money