Tolerance needed over child jabs, says expert

Parents should be tolerant of one another when it comes to deciding whether to have their children vaccinated against coronavirus, an expert advising on jabs has said.

Professor Adam Finn said he fears there could be stigma associated with those who do not want to have their child immunised against Covid-19.

The professor of paediatrics and member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said the decision whether to vaccinate 12 to 15-year-olds was not black and white, adding that, while it is not “essential” for them to have a coronavirus jab, it is “perfectly sensible” for them to do so.

Three million children are eligible for the jab across the UK after the chief medical officers of the four nations advised younger teenagers should be offered the Pfizer/ Biontech vaccine.

The decision to go ahead came after the JCVI decided not to recommend mass vaccination of 12 to 15-yearolds on health grounds alone. But they suggested wider issues, such as disruption to education, should be taken into consideration.

Prof Finn, of Bristol University, was asked about possible stigma when it comes to parents deciding not to have their children vaccinated.

He told Times Radio: “I absolutely do fear that… I’ve had a lot of people contact me with very strong views.

“Either they insist they wish their children to be immunised without delay, or they would rather die than have their children immunised. So there are plenty of people with very strong views, and those could easily translate into quite aggressive attitudes.”

Calling for tolerance, he added: “Parents who have their children immunised should be tolerant of those that decide not to and vice versa because the stakes are not high on either side.”

He said: “It’s being offered because the benefits outweigh the risks, and it’s available for people who want it.”

Parental consent will not be needed if a child is considered competent to make a decision by themselves but England’s Chief Medical Officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said for the “great majority of cases, children and their parents come to the same decision”.