Just quarter of primary school parents will let children have Covid jab
ONLY a quarter of parents plan to have their child vaccinated against Covid-19 when Britain’s jab rollout reaches those aged five to 11 next month, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Research by polling firm Findout now.co.uk for the MoS found that 33 per cent were undecided and 30 per cent said they would not get them inoculated.
Half a million five to 11-year-olds deemed clinically at risk have been eligible for a jab since January.
The rollout will make six million more youngsters eligible.
Responding to the findings, GP and author Dr Philippa Kaye said: ‘I would strongly encourage parents to get their children vaccinated.
‘People are thinking about the risk of Covid, which thankfully is very mild in young children, but children are getting long Covid, which is a real concern. Most commonly, that manifests itself as fatigue but there are other symptoms too. We should not risk children missing more school because they are unwell.’
Dr Kaye – who said her 14-yearold son has been jabbed and her ten-year-old and six-year-old children would be too – also cited the risk of Paediatric Inflammatory Multisystem Syndrome (PIMS), a new condition that occurs weeks after someone has had Covid and causes swelling throughout the body. Primary schools have been viewed as high risk settings for the spread of Covid-19.
Meanwhile, scientists have urged Ministers to consider extending the plan to give a fourth dose of Covid vaccines to older people because of evidence of waning immunity.
There has been a recent rise in the number of people admitted to hospital due to a new version of the Omicron variant which, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics, led to one in 25 people being infected on March 5.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid announced last month that immuno-compromised people, care home residents and anyone aged at least 75 would be offered a fourth dose of a vaccine in April. But Penny Ward, visiting professor in pharmaceutical medicine at King’s College London, called on the Government to consider whether it should accelerate this campaign – and ‘acquire further doses of antivirals to treat a broader proportion of the vulnerable elderly group’.
‘The slow start of campaign means the most vulnerable group are already at least six months away from their third shot,’ she said.