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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Are COVID-19 vaccines more dangerous to children than COVID-19 itself?

By Lisa Freedland
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NO

Child hospitalization and death rates from the COVID-19 vaccine are lower than those from COVID-19 itself, according to CDC data.

Of approximately eight million vaccine doses administered to children aged 5 to 11 from November to December 2021, 11 verified Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System reports were received, including two deaths of children with chronic health conditions. (The CDC found no causal connection between their vaccinations and deaths.)

Of the approximately 2.8 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 who received a COVID-19 booster between December 2021 and February 2022, there were 32 confirmed myocarditis cases and zero deaths.

In comparison, 8,092 children under 18 have been hospitalized and 1,185 have died from COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

During the Delta surge, unvaccinated children were 10 times more likely to be hospitalized than fully vaccinated children.

As of February 2022, "Approximately 75% of children and adolescents had serologic evidence of a previous [COVID-19] infection."

Currently, children younger than five years old cannot receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Centers for Disease Control COVID-19 Vaccine Safety in Children Aged 5–11 Years — United States, November 3–December 19, 2021
Centers for Disease Control Safety Monitoring of COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Doses Among Persons Aged 12–17 Years — United States, December 9, 2021–February 20, 2022
Center for Disease Control COVID-19 Hospitalizations
Center for Disease Control Provisional COVID-19 Deaths: Focus on Ages 0-18 Years
Centers for Disease Control Hospitalizations Associated with COVID-19 Among Children and Adolescents — COVID-NET, 14 States, March 1, 2020–August 14, 2021
Centers for Disease Control Seroprevalence of Infection-Induced SARS-CoV-2 Antibodies — United States, September 2021–February 2022
Centers for Disease Control COVID-19 Vaccine Recommendations for Children and Teens
ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR
Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.