Buddingh herself is also the mother of a young child and she does opt for a vaccination. “I think the disadvantages of a vaccination, such as a shot and the possibility of side effects, are very limited. And I think the possible benefits, such as making the risk of MIS-C even smaller, outweigh this.”
One of the possible drawbacks with vaccination is myocarditis – an inflammation of the heart muscle. The risk of this is considered by the Health Council very small, smaller than the chance of MIS-C. Internationally, no cases of myocarditis have been detected after vaccination in children aged 5 to 11, says the Health Council. Millions of children from that age group have already been vaccinated in the US, Canada and Israel.
Despite this clear risk assessment and the agony of her daughter, Rijsdijk is not in favor of a vaccination obligation for small children. “That is really a choice for the parents. But please, inform yourself thoroughly about what corona can do to your children because it is not always harmless, as we have experienced.”
Hardly any energy
Apart from last year’s acute MIS-C complaints, Vayenna also has long-term corona complaints, which means she has hardly any energy. Rijsdijk, who finds more and more parents through groups on social media who see the same in their children, suspects that these long-term complaints occur more often in children than is now believed.
“I don’t know when Vayenna will get better. There is still so much unknown. And that makes it scary, but also exhausting, because you don’t see the end.”
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