Jag will give our kids a chance

AFTER 18 long months, the jags have saved millions of lives and restored a level of normality as society begins to open up again.

Now, after the biggest adult vaccine programme in history, the UK’s four chief medical officers have decided it is right to offer a single dose to young teenagers.

They do this in the hope it can stop the spread of the virus and end the disruption to schools that we saw last year.

The full effect of the pandemic and subsequent lockdown on the lives and education of young people has still to be fully realised. No child can afford to have another year of education conducted in isolation from their peers.

The vaccination committee of experts, looking at the situation from a strictly scientific point of view, concluded that there was marginal benefit in offering the jag to young teenagers.

The chief medical officers looked at the situation and decided the potential effect on schooling from not having jags outweighed any extremely small risk the vaccine would present.

FM Nicola Sturgeon’s team has been among the most cautious in the UK when weighing up the pros and cons in every move of the Covid-19 pandemic. Their view was they were ready to go at a moment’s notice once approval was given.

For the sake of youngsters’ education and to keep the pandemic contained, the offer of teenage vaccination ought to be taken up by all parents.

Perhaps the most striking line to emerge from the Downing Street press conference was the prediction from Chris Whitty that he fully expects the autumn surge in Covid to place extra pressure on the NHS and to see school closures.

The experts do not believe this pandemic will be finished by winter and we should all prepare ourselves and our teenagers for that.