Experts are warning that the push to vaccinate kids has already been seized on by groups looking to spread anti-vaccination messages.

Dr. Natasha Burgert is well aware of the concerns parents have about the Covid-19 vaccines.

The Kansas pediatrician, who is a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, said she’s already been counseling some parents about their fears. And she worries that they are entering a particularly sensitive time — one that anti-vaccination activists could exploit.

“If the anti-vaccine industry starts doing what we anticipate, with those very graphic and emotionally charged videos, and bringing out their supposed experts, I think it’s going to affect a new group of parents,” she said. 

Burgert and many other doctors, public health experts and misinformation researchers are anticipating a flood of anti-vaccine propaganda featuring younger children following last week’s vote by a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee to authorize Pfizer-BioNTech’s lower-dose Covid vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices unanimously recommended the Covid vaccines for 5 to 11-year-olds on Tuesday. CDC director Rochelle Walensky signed off on the approval later in the evening...

Dr. Natasha Burgert is well aware of the concerns parents have about the Covid-19 vaccines.

The Kansas pediatrician, who is a spokesperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics, said she’s already been counseling some parents about their fears. And she worries that they are entering a particularly sensitive time — one that anti-vaccination activists could exploit.

“If the anti-vaccine industry starts doing what we anticipate, with those very graphic and emotionally charged videos, and bringing out their supposed experts, I think it’s going to affect a new group of parents,” she said. 

Burgert and many other doctors, public health experts and misinformation researchers are anticipating a flood of anti-vaccine propaganda featuring younger children following last week’s vote by a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee to authorize Pfizer-BioNTech’s lower-dose Covid vaccine for children ages 5 to 11. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices unanimously recommended the Covid vaccines for 5 to 11-year-olds on Tuesday. CDC director Rochelle Walensky signed off on the approval later in the evening, ...