Let parents decide on Covid jab for 12-15-year-olds, vaccine consultants say | Corona Virus

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The government’s independent vaccine advisers said parents should choose whether to allow their children to be vaccinated against Covid-19 if ministers invalidate scientific advice against universal vaccination of healthy children aged 12 to 15.

The government is set to move forward with vaccinations for teenagers, but Professor Anthony Harnden, vice chair of the Joint Commission on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI), said on Saturday that the decision was “entirely up to parents”.

“The health benefits from vaccinating 12- to 15-year-olds are marginally greater than the risks,” he told the Observer.

“If the educational benefits of immunization make the benefit/risk balance tilt toward a greater benefit/risk ratio, then – with parental consent – ​​it would be perfectly reasonable to offer the option of vaccination to 12-15 year olds. Both adolescents and parents should be involved in this the choice “.

Boris Johnson is also heading for a showdown with his deputies after the Torres party leader said vaccinations for 12-15-year-olds would be a “clear mistake” given there is no clear consensus among experts to move forward.

Sir Graham Brady told the Observer that there would also be widespread opposition from “across the House of Commons” if ministers tried to approve Covid stings for school-age children before there was corroborating medical and scientific evidence.

Brady, who chairs the 1922 Committee of Conservative Party members, said: “The JCVI has paid close attention to the pros and cons of vaccinating children and has concluded that the issue has not been raised. In my view, it would be clearly wrong to give vaccinations to children when it is not clear that it is of benefit. on the health of that child.”

As MPs prepare to return to Westminster this week, Brady said he believed the 70-member Covid Recovery Group of Conservative MPs, who have opposed many of the government’s tougher lockdown measures, would vehemently oppose the move. Members of Parliament are not yet sure whether ministers will allow any votes on the issue.

It is understood that while Health Minister Sajid Javid and the Prime Minister are keen to go ahead with vaccinations for young people if possible to curb the spread of the virus, the Minister of Vaccinations, Nazim Al-Zahawi, cautioned against doing so without a clear green light. of scientists and medical experts.

Others in the government are said to be concerned about a possible backlash such as a decision to cause illness among children, or sparking a wave of anxiety among parents if not clearly supported by scientific evidence.

Concerns have been raised about the government’s plans for a booster campaign for adults who have been vaccinated twice. As the virus spreads, there is still a risk to older people who were vaccinated in January, as their resistance to Covid may wane.

The government has planned a booster campaign but is awaiting advice from the JCVI. However, the committee is awaiting early results from a scientific study at the University of Southampton, COV-Boost, looking at the safety of a third dose.

Saffron Cordery, executive vice president of NHS Providers, would not comment on the decision on people aged 12 to 15, but urged ministers to wait for advice on reinforcements.

“It’s important to let the JCVI do its job,” she said. “All the work on vaccines has been highly evidence-based and this should be the case for boosters as well. It is well understood that JCVI takes time to confirm.

“The main issue is getting the vaccine into the arms of as many people as possible, as safely as possible, because wider coverage means greater protection. Ignoring scientific guidance could undermine trust, and that would be really unhelpful.”

Questions remain about how to introduce the mass booster campaign, with some suggestions GPs could make in tandem with flu vaccinations. The government plans to provide 35 million doses of a flu vaccine this winter, amid concerns that people will be more vulnerable to infection with the flu virus, but supply problems caused by a shortage of truck drivers mean the program has been delayed, and there is also a shortage of bottle samples for blood tests.

The knockout effect is causing tremendous stress on GPs, who are already under pressure. “We’re getting calls around 12 to 15-year-olds, about booster vaccination requests, shortages of blood bottles, and now about flu vaccination programmes, and that’s in addition to business as usual,” said Dr. Gaurav Gupta. , who is a Faversham GP and is the chair of the local medical committee in Kent.

“Patients are really upset that they can’t reach us, but our phone lines are full of problems that have come up elsewhere and thrown at us. We get very little support from NHS England and the government at the moment. There has to be a central place where people can call and get information. “.

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