Retired medics may get call as school vaccination falters

RETIRED medics should be drafted in to vaccinate pupils, ministers have been urged, as the half-term target for vaccinating children aged 12 to 15 looks set to be missed.

Despite the Government setting a target to vaccinate the majority of eligible pupils by the October half-term, just 15 per cent in this cohort have received their first jab, compared with more than 40 per cent in Scotland.

Last night teaching unions blamed the delays on a shortage of school nurses and administrative errors, resulting in immunisation teams turning up with fewer jabs than required or cancelling their appointments with schools at short-notice.

Echoing concerns of school leaders, Jonathan Ashworth, the shadow health secretary, urged ministers to consider recruiting retired clinicians to help plug the gaps in the school vaccine programme.

“There is a lack of grip here and ministers need to stop vacillating and start vaccinating,” he said.

While Scotland has allowed pupils to attend community drop-in sites and mass vaccination centres, in England jabs have been only available in schools. The scheme has been run by the School Age Immunisation Service, which also administers HPV and flu jabs.

Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, has confirmed that children will now be able to book their jabs at national vaccination centres from half-term.

The move came as a report by the Education Policy Institute suggested that pupils could each lose at least £16,000 in future earnings due to missed lessons during the pandemic, rising to £46,000 in a worst-case scenario if the Government fails to intervene.