Families left in limbo over kids’ vaccines
PARENTS are set to find out this week whether their children will be offered vaccines against coronavirus.
Thousands of 12 to 15-year-olds could receive the jab in a bid to keep them safe from the virus and long Covid – and also stave off the threat of school closures.
There were 33,171 pupils off due to Covid on one day last week – more than four times the figure from the start of term.
Only 6,471 had the virus, with the majority needing to self-isolate due to the close-contact protocols. There were also 2,741 staff absent due to Covid, but so far no schools have been forced to close because of outbreaks or teacher shortages.
Last week, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) did not recommend giving jabs to healthy 12 to 15-year-olds. However, all four of the UK’s chief medical officers were then asked to consider it anyway and will report back to Westminster and the devolved administrations, with a fournation approach likely.
Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: ‘I’m quite confident the CMO [Chief Medical Officer] should be able to come back to us, hopefully next week, with that broad advice and hopefully we can update parents. I’m a parent of a 12-year-old myself. I am always worrying about my children’s health.
‘So I know it’s a worrying time, but it is really important we take as much expert advice on this as we possibly can.’
One Scottish public health expert said the delay was ‘frustrating’ and potentially confusing for parents, who are unsure of what to do. Jillian Evans, of NHS Grampian, said: ‘We know that the JCVI’s decision is predominantly based on the individual benefits and risks to a child, and not considering some of the wider impacts, and that’s what the chief medical officers will do.
‘It’s frustrating because it just builds in further delay in a decision that we’ve already been pushing for, so it delays things a little bit further.
‘Although I’m absolutely certain that there will be a lot of activity going on right now and in the days ahead so we can get to a decision as quickly as possible.’
Yesterday, Scotland’s national clinical director, Professor Jason Leitch, did not rule out mass vaccination for children.
He said: ‘They haven’t come down and said do or don’t do it – they said we’re not recommending it yet – we’re going to keep looking.
‘The Health Ministers have written to CMOs and said could you give us advice in the round – not just about the individual risk per kid, but also look at the educational environment, the time off school, the safety of schools.
‘There absolutely could be a decision to roll out vaccination for 12 to 15-year-olds. The final decision will be with Ministers and I would have thought that would be a fourcountry decision.’