Covid jab - young ’uns go for it!
After a highly successful roll-out of the vaccine programme for UK adults and the vulnerable, all young people aged 12 to 17 are now being offered jabs against COVID-19. We talk to experts to answer your most frequently asked questions about the benefits
YOUNG PEOPLE aged 12 to 17 are now being offered vaccines and parents,
guardians and carers are asked to urge them to have the jab.
17-year-old influencer Amazing Arabella and her home-schooled younger brother JD both plan to have the vaccine.
“There are loads of cool events coming up. We all want to go to them. We just want to be out and about and back to normal.”
Medicines regulator MHRA has confirmed the Pfizer vaccine is safe and effective for 12 to 17-year-olds.
Those aged 12 to 15 will receive their jab at school. There will be catch-up appointments for those absent on injection day while those educated at home will also be offered the vaccine.
GP Dr Farzana Hussain confirms the vaccination is safe for black, Asian and minority ethnic young people. “COVID infection rates for ethnic minority communities are higher and more likely to cause death and serious illness. It is really important for them to be vaccinated.”
She recommends concerned parents talk to GPs or community pharmacists.
Channel 4’s Embarrassing Bodies
expert and GP Dr Dawn Harper is a mum of three, who have all been vaccinated. “For the 12 to 15 age group school nurses are thoroughly experienced in managing this. If you’re nervous or worried, you can ask to lie down.
“You can buy over-the-counter anaesthetic cream you can rub into the top of your arm 20 minutes before if you really don’t like needles.”
Dr Bob Phillips, involved in research, stressed: “Evidence so far suggests risks
of disease are still going to be greater than risks of having the vaccine.”
Dr Elaine Lockhart, Chair of Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Child and Adolescent Faculty, added: “What parents can do is make sure they have the best information.
“Like any decision you have about medical treatment, we’re talking about
informed consent.”