To whom it may concern;

I submit my official comment as "NO VACCINE MANDATES FOR CHILDREN." The vaccine is available for those who feel that their child (over 13) needs it.

I urge the Virginia Dept. Of Health and Board of Health to please consider the following scientific facts:

1) COVID is a not significant risk to young and healthy children.  Most children fight off the virus in a matter of days and recover quickly. Proof? As of this comment, 13 children had died of COVID in Virginia since its introduction to the state in March 2020 (Richmond. Com).  We pray for those families and wish each one of those lives could have been saved.  However, in contrast, over the course of 12 calendar months of the year 2015, 25 children drowned in Virginia (vdh.virginia.gov). Also of concern is the rising rate of suicides; in 2013, 49 children under the age of 18 committed suicide in Virginia (VA Commission on Youth). One can only guess that 2020 and 2021 will be higher than that given the societal upheaval and change and strife experienced (the74million.com).  Our children need more than just an "emergency authorized" shot in the arm to keep them healthy.

2) The vaccines do not prevent transmission of the virus, nor do they prevent illness (cnn.com). Dr. Fauci has said multiple times that the goal of the vaccines is to ensure hospitals are not inundated with COVID patients, and that people are not "as sick" as if they had gotten the COVID virus without the vaccine.

3) The COVID vaccines approved for children are incomparable to the other vaccines required by VDH for school-aged children. NO PREVIOUSLY APPROVED VACCINE USES THE mRNA BIOTECHNOLOGY.  Dr. Robert Malone, one  of the researchers who developed the mRNA biotechnology, strenuously objects to the use of these vaccines in anyone under the age of 25.  All the other approved and mandated vaccines (MMR, Varicella, HPV-- all mentioned in other petitions) underwent stringent and rigorous testing over years (YEARS).  Perhaps we should allow the testing and trials to continue and ensure that these COVID vaccines are safe for children before we start requiring them. I will also note that COVID virus most resembles influenza, and no school that I could find requires its students to have the flu vaccine to attend class, and the annual flu vaccine is not on the list of VDH's required vaccines.

PLEASE VOTE AGAINST VACCINE MANDATES FOR CHILDREN until we have more scientific data, testing, and understanding about the long term impact of the vaccines.  We know that the majority of children will fight this off and be just fine- in fact, be powered by natural immunity and natural antibodies!!