Here’s why we should ALL be vaccinated: to buffer, i.e. protect, children, our babies, others’ babies from COVID-19. Children are getting the virus; and these un-vaccinated are culprits because they carry the virus into their family and friends. President Joe Biden said in a Wednesday Townhall from Ohio, “We have a pandemic for those who haven’t gotten the vaccination. It’s that basic, that simple,” Biden said.

“If you’re vaccinated, you’re not going to be hospitalized. You’re not going to be in an ICU unit. And you are not going to die,” President Biden explained.

More than one expert on contagious diseases and immunology have explained, “Get vaccinated to buffer children from the Covid virus and it’s variants including the Delta variant.” This variant is more contagious, takes less time to infect, and proliferates and changes at higher rates than the original virus.

“Transmission will continue to accelerate ... and the ones who will also pay the price, in addition to the unvaccinated adolescents, are the little kids who depend on the adults and adolescents to get vaccinated in order to slow or halt transmission,” Dr. Peter Hotez, a vaccinologist and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.

Likewise, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) writes, “Help Protect Your Child and Your Family—Getting a COVID-19 vaccination can help protect your child from getting COVID-19. Early information shows that the vaccines may help keep people from spreading COVID-19 to others. They can also help keep your child from getting seriously sick even if they do get COVID-19. Help protect your whole family by getting yourself and your children 12 years and older vaccinated against COVID-19.”

Some have bought into vaccine myths, so, here are some answers from Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health:

People cannot “catch COVID” from the vaccine. The myth that virus can be caught from being inoculated is false.

Covid vaccinations offer stronger and longer protection than surviving the virus does.

Infertility is not a side effect to the covid vaccine. “There’s no correlation between the two.”

Failing to get a vaccine could make the vaccines less effective. And that could ruin everyone’s vaccinations -- throwing the country backward in this pandemic. Failing to get vaccinated can have blowback on your loved ones, family, friends, and others you see in public spaces.

Being young and healthy is no reason to refuse the vaccine because youth who suffered through the virus have had long-haul complications and more.The vaccine is not fully FDA authorized and so not safe.  He stressed that the vaccines’ emergency status doesn’t mean they’re less safe. as a member of the FDA vaccine advisory committee, Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia, said the vaccines are reviewed with the same level of scrutiny as they would to get full approval.

Faith not science saves. “If you believe that God created us in his image, including being able to think and reason, we’ve been able to think and reason a lot of these diseases away” thanks to vaccination, Offit said. “We don’t die from smallpox anymore. Children aren’t permanently paralyzed by polio anymore in the United States. It’s a good thing. That’s because God gave us a brain to think and reason with. So, use it.”

The vaccine is free which dispels the myth that the covid vaccine is costly.

Finally, Leana Wen, M.D. writes on Twitter: “Saying that #covid19 vaccines don’t work because we have breakthrough infections is like saying seatbelts don’t work because there are still people injured in car accidents. Seatbelts protect you a lot, but if there are reckless drivers all around, you could still be in danger.”

I’m vaccinated and you can be protected–plus buffer children, elderly and loved ones–against Covid, too.