Ven. Omalpe Sobitha thera recently said that there was no scientific consensus about vaccinating children against COVID-19, and Sri Lankan children should not be used as guinea pigs. The Thera made this statement addressing a press conference organised by the Collective to Minimise COVID deaths.

The Thera said that they did not oppose the government’s decision to reopen schools. However, steps should be taken to enhance the natural immunity of children and certain tools and practices of indigenous medicines, too, could be used for the purpose, he said.

“We must all think long-term given the impact of this crisis. However, I don’t think that those in power are taking a long-term view of the crisis. I spoke to Prof. Tissa Vitharana about the pandemic and he is our most authoritative virologist. I also spoke to Dr. Channa de Silva who is Chest Physician and a Paediatrician· They all think that we must not vaccinate children hurriedly,” the thera said.

The Thera d that added the WHO was of the opinion that COVID-19 vaccines were safe for those above 18 years and that children and adolescents tended to have milder disease, compared to adults, so unless they were part of a group at higher risk of severe COVID-19, it was less urgent to vaccinate them than older people, those with chronic health conditions, and health workers.

“As we know the vaccine only reduces the severity of the disease and deaths. There is also research that there are some serious side-effects of the new mRNA vaccines. Surf the Internet and there is a lot of information from reliable sources. So, why are we in such a hurry to vaccinate our children?” the Thera asked.

The Thera also criticised the statement made by Dr. Harsha Atapattu, urging women to postpone pregnancy. All nations in the world are facing the pandemic and not a single senior doctor who holds a key position has made such a request, the Thera said.

“It seems that the doctors and officials in charge of the pandemic response are just blurting out things that come to their mind. They are not thinking rationally or scientifically. Meanwhile, intelligent and thoughtful doctors and officials have been sidelined. Real experts are silent or have just stopped offering advice. This is why we should be wary of this sudden desire to vaccinate children with Pfizer.”said.

The Thera said that some researchers were worried about administering the mRNA vaccines to pregnant mothers because they worry the fetus might be affected. Given that many tests were underway that would give us better answers about vaccinating children. Since children and adolescents were less affected by the virus, Sri Lanka should wait until the world had a clear answer about the vaccines. In the meantime, the government should take steps to boost the immunity of children and establish protocols that limit the chance of the spread of the virus, he said.

“Renowned experts on vaccines and genetics claim that we must first carry out research about vaccines before giving them to kids. The University of Sri Jayewardenepura has done excellent research. Why doesn’t the government ask them to research this? Why hasn’t the government looked at the tools to boost immunity of Sinhala medicine? Just because a vaccine has been given in the US, we must rush to the conclusion that it works here,” he said.

The Thera said that the government should promote food supplements produced by indigenous medical practitioners to boost immunity. There were a number of associations who were working on this regionally.

Dr. Udara Sampath Gunawardane, who also spoke at the press conference, said that most Medical Specialists had not commented on vaccinating children. Long years were needed when recommending vaccines and medications for pregnant women and children, he said. “While the body composition of adults over 25 are set for the most part, we must be wary of giving young people vaccines using spike proteins/ genetic material”, he said.

“In a week or so the government is planning to vaccinate those under 18. Have we conducted any study? If so, show us the report. Look at the side-effects of such a vaccine on children. Talk to authoritative experts on vaccines and genetics. They will tell you in private that mRNA vaccines should not be used on kids, but only Prof. Vitharana has said this in public. Authoritative experts on vaccines and genetics too have a responsibility to come out and tell the truth. We must not take these unnecessary risks.”