To Whom It May Concern, 

At a time when a large number of parents in our commonwealth are already doubting the trustworthiness of the VDOH on matters related to their children, adding the Covid-19 vaccine to the required vaccines for children will damage what little trust is left. Adding an experimental vaccine without the standard long term studies not only undermines trust in your authority but it brings into question all the other recommendations given. We now have accurate information on the real risk of Covid for children (statistically negligible) and we have the increasing numbers of serious side effects from the vaccine piling up, especially in young healthy people with no risk factors. This vaccine is not even a vaccine by the traditional definition as it does not prevent infection nor does it prevent transmission. Thus even just recommending it let alone requiring it public health reasons is dishonest at best. It should only be the choice if the parents working with doctors to decide for each child if they want or need it to decrease the severity of illness. There are an abundance of reasons not to add it to the required schedule but I hope you consider the irreversible damage it will do to trust. It’s my hope that we work toward a cooperative relationship between the citizens and the governing bodies in Virginia, utilizing expert advice, data, facts and information. 

Thank you for considering my words.