Jabs for five-year-olds ‘premature’, warn paediatricians

VACCINATING primary school children is premature, Britain’s top paediatric body has said, after it emerged those as young as five could be offered the Covid jab next spring.

The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) last night called for better evidence of the risks to the heart before extending the rollout.

It came after leaked NHS documents revealed provisional plans to offer the vaccine to children aged five to 11 in the first half of 2021.

Young children face a miniscule threat of serious disease from Covid-19 itself. A recent study showed only six healthy youngsters had died from the virus in England.

However, there are concerns surrounding a very small risk of a heart inflammation condition called myocarditis from the Pfizer jab.

Any decision to offer the jab to primary school-age children would almost certainly be made to protect wider society, rather than individuals themselves.

Dr David Elliman, from the RCPCH, said: “You have to be absolutely certain, if that is your primary reason, that you’re not going to do any harm to the children. The uncertainty for five to 11 at the moment is great.

“People will be demanding more evidence than we have before we go ahead with it.”

It came as five European countries faced the threat lockdown within days after cases surged on the continent.

Austria will return to lockdown on Monday, while Italy, Germany, Belgium and the Czech Republic are also facing renewed restrictions.

Police in Rotterdam reportedly fired at protesters demonstrating against a new partial lockdown yesterday, with the Dutch invoking emergency powers.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands marched in Austria against the sweeping new restrictions.

Responding to reports of the NHS “planning scenario” a health service spokesman said: “The NHS regularly plans for how it would operationalise opening vaccines to more people so it is ready to extend the jab quickly when and if any decision is recommended by the JCVI.”