Japantown Parents Counter Misinformation About Covid Vaccine

Some parents of young children in the San Francisco Bay Area Japantown communities have heard misconceptions about the COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots.

Julio Lau, a Chibi Chan Preschool parent in San Francisco’s Japantown, told the Nichi Bei Weekly in a phone interview that initially, he and his wife “were not sure” about vaccinating their children because they had seen misinformation online and in the media. They heard about some kids reacting poorly to the vaccine. Nevertheless, the couple decided to take the “safe route” and vaccinate their kids.

Lau and his wife closely monitored their children for side effects after they were vaccinated, but they were fine.

Safe For Children?

Meanwhile, Darryl Wong, a parent of a Lotus Preschool student in San Jose’s Japantown, said many people mistakenly presume that if they get the vaccine, they won’t get the virus. He noted that the vaccines help “the children to be around people.”

However, many other parents of young children, as well as seniors in the San Francisco Bay Area that the Nichi Bei Weekly interviewed, have not heard any misinformation pertaining to the COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots.

Risks Versus Benefits

Reiko Iwata, a parent of a Rosa Parks Elementary School Japanese Bilingual Bicultural Program student in San Francisco, said she hadn’t heard any misconceptions about the COVID-19 vaccines and booster shots. She added that she doesn’t care what other people say; she decide(s) “what I should do for my children.”

Chibi Chan Preschool parents Javier Rangel and Jennifer Sato have not encountered any misinformation, having “researched peer-reviewed medical publications as well as discussed the issue with our pediatrician.”

Initially, Rangel and Sato had “concerns about the effectiveness” of the vaccines, along with the “risks versus benefits of the mRNA vaccines, which are new,” they wrote to the Nichi Bei Weekly in an e-mail.

Protecting Kids At School

Several other parents said they have not been concerned about vaccinating their children or getting them their booster shot.

Wong has not had any concerns about vaccinating his children.

Greg Lee, a Lotus Preschool parent, said he doesn’t have any “real concerns,” but he’s waiting to see if any “concerns arise” with the vaccine. If all goes well, he will “go ahead and get my kid vaccinated.”

Lee added that he hasn’t heard many “negative things” about children receiving the vaccine, and “it’s protecting them in the schools and keeping them safe.”

Read the full story at Nichi Bei: https://www.nichibei.org/2022/11/countering-misinformation-on-covid-19-boosters-among-parents-and-seniors/