Children told to wait three months after Covid to get jab
CHILDREN who have had Covid should wait three months to be vaccinated, health chiefs have announced, despite concerns the change in advice could cause public confusion.
The UK Health Security Agency said the new guidance for children aged 12 to 15 had been taken as a precautionary measure, to reduce the risks of myocarditis, a rare type of heart inflammation.
Until now, parents have only been advised to delay vaccination for a month if a child has had Covid.
The advice, following a review of evidence by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), affects millions of children, and threatens to further complicate a vaccine rollout which has already been significantly delayed.
Health officials originally intended to complete the vaccination of secondary school children by the October halfterm but so far less than four in 10 eligible children have had a jab, meaning just over 1million of those aged between 12 and 15 in England are vaccinated.
More than half of children of secondary school age are estimated to have been infected with Covid since the start of September.
Last night officials admitted the new advice may slow the rollout’s progress, amid concern it could undermine public confidence in the programme.
But scientists said it was crucial that they were “honest with the public” about the uncertainties of the programme, including its “extremely small” risks and “modest benefits”.
Children aged between 12 and 15 are currently only offered one dose of the Covid vaccine. The precaution was taken because of evidence from other countries linking most cases of myocarditis to second jabs. However, most countries have shorter intervals between doses.
Last night JCVI members said the rollout of jabs to adults in Britain – with a gap of between eight and 12 weeks – suggests that with a longer interval, there is almost no risk of myocarditis.
Scientists on the committee said it seemed possible that among those who had been naturally infected, a threemonth gap might similarly reduce risks.
Prof Adam Finn, from the JCVI, said the advice had been changed in the light of emerging evidence.
He said: “There are voices pushing for a much more black-and-white kind of line on this, that the public are going to be better off if we could give an absolutely clear and unequivocal message. “In a way, we’d love to be able to do that, but it’s not good if it’s not true. Ultimately, the whole value of the programme, and of all of our other programmes is that we’re honest with the public. There are uncertainties around it; the risks are extremely small, but they exist ... and the benefits are modest,” he said.
Prof Finn also said it was likely that in future, the JCVI would recommend second doses for those aged 12 to 15. Earlier this week the committee announced that 16 and 17 year olds would be offered a second jab, after a 12 week gap.
The rollout of vaccines to schoolchildren has been the subject of much debate. In September, the JCVI did not support the move, saying the benefit was too small, but ministers sought advice from the country’s chief medical officers, who then recommended the rollout, saying it would reduce disruption to children’s schooling.
‘There are uncertainties; the risks are extremely small, but they exist... and the benefits are modest’
When Prof Chris Whitty told the nation in September that 12 to 15-year-olds should be vaccinated “on balance”, it sparked mass confusion among parents.
Just 10 days earlier, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) had ruled that the benefits were so marginal for schoolchildren that the jabs were not worth the risk.
The JCVI warned that a first dose of the vaccine carried a risk of three to 17 per million cases of the rare heart condition myocarditis and this rose to 12 to 34 per million for a second dose.
Despite this, Prof Whitty and the other chief medical officers overruled the JCVI and went ahead with giving children the vaccine, but just one dose instead of the usual two.
But recent analysis from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) now states the risk of myocarditis is just nine cases per million after both jabs and this probably played a role in the decision earlier this week to give 16 and 17-year-olds a second dose.
However, while the Government tries to ramp up a children’s vaccination campaign that appears to be showing signs of stalling, parents are likely to be more concerned than ever before to learn that health officials are now saying that youngsters who have had a coronavirus infection should wait three months before getting a jab to reduce the risk of myocarditis.
Up to now, the recommendation was to only wait a month between infection and inoculation.
The UKHSA said guidance had been updated as a result of emerging evidence showing a longer interval between infection and vaccination makes the chance of the inflammatory heart condition even slimmer.
However, experts have been aware that prior infection with Covid may increase the risk of myocarditis following a subsequent vaccination with minutes from the JCVI’S meetings in July revealing members were concerned prior infection could increase the threat.
It means that the more than one million 12 to 15-year-olds who have already been vaccinated may have had their jab within this “danger” window.
Prof Whitty authorised jabs for 12 to 15-year-olds on Sep 13, and one month later one in every 11 children had Covid-19 according to the Office for National Statistics.
Health officials estimate that about half of secondary school pupils have been infected, many in recent months. But the MRC Biostatistics Unit at the University of Cambridge suggests the true figure could be in excess of 80 per cent, with the majority occurring since September.
It means that huge numbers may
‘This revised guidance means huge numbers may have been put at risk’
‘The indirect effects of the pandemic may be greater than direct effects’
have unwittingly been placed at extra risk.
Many parents will be unsure whether their child has had coronavirus in the last three months, which will only add to the confusion.
A report earlier this month from University College London (UCL) showed coronavirus killed just six healthy children during the pandemic, while lockdowns have fuelled a timebomb of health disorders among the young.
The research examining more than 3,000 deaths of under-18s in England in the year since the first lockdown found a “tiny” proportion were linked to Covid-19.
Just 25 deaths were caused by the virus, and only six of those involved children without underlying health conditions.
Prof Russell Viner, of UCL said: “When you look at this data together, it tells us that the indirect effects of the pandemic on children are likely to be significantly greater than the direct effects.”
Experts believe vaccinating children is safe and effective, and the murky messaging of the last few months has merely been due to an abundance of caution to protect young people, but the lack of clear messaging – something the JCVI said in July was needed to ensure young adults do not “lose confidence in vaccination” – will now undoubtedly lead to parents questioning whether a vaccine is needed at all.