A policy of vaccinating school children to prevent illness in other age groups assumes that public preferences are consistent with trading off the health and well-being of school-aged children (in the form of risk for vaccination-related adverse events) to protect people in other age groups. Evidence suggesting that societal preferences may be more consistent with prioritizing child health over adult health could clearly support the vaccination of children if the expected benefits to the child outweighed the potential costs and risks but the decision to vaccinate a child may only consider benefits and risks to the vaccinated child (Prosser
