The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Health chiefs recommend Covid jab for 12 to 15-year-olds
Children aged 12 to 15 should be offered a first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, the UK’s four chief medical officers (CMOs) have said.
The decision takes into account the impact of the pandemic on children’s education as well as the risks to their mental health from missing school.
The move means that around three million children could be eligible for the jab and comes despite the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) deciding not to recommend mass vaccination of 12 to 15-year-olds.
It is expected the vaccinations could be given through schools as soon as possible once the advice has been considered by the government.
The JCVI had said Covid19 presents a very low risk for healthy children and vaccination would only offer a marginal benefit.
But they suggested that the wider issues, such as education, should be taken into consideration.
In their advice to the government, the UK’s CMOs said they were recommending vaccines on “public health grounds” and it was “likely vaccination will help reduce transmission of Covid-19 in schools”.
They added: “Covid-19 is a disease which can be very effectively transmitted by mass spreading events, especially with Delta variant.
“Having a significant proportion of pupils vaccinated is likely to reduce the probability of such events which are likely to cause local outbreaks in, or associated with, schools.”
The CMOs have asked for the JCVI now to look at whether second doses should be given to children and young people aged 12 to 15 once more data comes through internationally.
This will not be before the spring term.
The US has collected a large amount of safety data on vaccinating children aged 12 and over with Pfizer.
The AstraZeneca vaccine is currently not recommended for anyone under the age of 18.
The CMOs think a single dose of Pfizer will reduce significantly the chance of a young person getting Covid.
Clinical evidence shows that a single dose of Pfizer cuts the risk of catching the Delta variant of Covid-19 by 55% and has a much higher effect on preventing severe illness and death. It also cuts transmission.
The JCVI has also investigated the extremely rare events of inflammation of the heart muscle, known as myocarditis, after Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
The UK’s CMOs – Professor Chris Whitty in England, Dr Frank Atherton in Wales, Dr
Michael McBride in Northern Ireland and Dr Gregor Smith in Scotland – said myocarditis can also be caused by Covid-19 and resolves itself in most cases.
One paper from the US has found that young men with Covid are up to six times more likely to develop myocarditis as those who have received the vaccine.
When it comes to consent for the new wave of vaccines, parental consent will not be needed if the child is considered competent to make a decision by themselves.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokeswoman said: “We will set out the government’s decision shortly.”
Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “Health ministers are now considering this advice and we will make a decision as soon as possible.”