In July, David Zweig wrote a very smart piece on Wired.com exposing how the CDC had covered up the risk of myocarditis post-vaccination in teen boys. Zweig quoted CDC head Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who said “the benefits of vaccination far outweigh any harm.” True, the vaccine-related risk of myocarditis is extremely small (less than .01 percent, per Walensky). But the risk of COVID among the young is also very small.

And notably, as Zweig points out, the rate in teen boys post-vaccine is seven times higher than it is for girls. Walensky had combined the sexes and got a lower risk number. How can parents trust this politicized organization to tell the truth about vaccines for children when its leaders have lied before?

The Biden administration is doing nothing to fix that broken trust. Instead of convincing Americans to take the COVID-19 vaccine, it has attempted to force them into it under the threat of taking away their livelihoods. American parents are right to worry that those same mandates will be applied to schooling. With scientists saying herd immunity is largely off the table where COVID is concerned, whether or not to vaccinate a child should remain the prerogative of the parents.