‘Transmission is highest in children’

ENGLAND’S chief medical officer Chris Whitty yesterday said children were currently driving transmission of Covid-19, and that without vaccination, almost all 12- to 15-year-olds would get infected at some point.

“There is definitely substantial transmission happening in this age group. In fact, the age group is the one in which the highest rate of transmission is currently occurring,” Whitty told lawmakers at a session about the decision to offer Covid-19 vaccines to children aged 12 to 15.

All children in that age group will be offered a Covid-19 vaccine after Whitty and his colleagues said last week that children would benefit from reduced disruption to their education.

Whitty said that the recommendation focused purely on the benefit to children aged between 12 and 15, and had not been made for political reasons or for the benefit of more vulnerable adults.

He said while the vaccination plans would cause some interruption to the school programmes, it would be outweighed by the likely disruption caused if children caught Covid-19.

“The great majority of children who have not currently had Covid are going to get it at some point,” he said.

“This is incredibly infectious … vaccination will reduce that risk.”