The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommended just weeks ago that children older than 12 years old should not be vaccinated unless they are extremely vulnerable or live with someone at high risk. This was due to concerns about an inflammatory condition in the heart linked to the Pfizer/BioNTech jab. The JCVI has now modified that recommendation to allow routine vaccination of children 16-17 years old.What are the benefits of vaccinating childrenCovid is not a common cause of severe illness in children. Studies show that only a small percentage of those children who develop symptoms from Covid will remain symptomatic for more than four weeks. Children with neurodisabilities, Down syndrome, or immunosuppression, are more at risk of becoming seriously ill if they get Covid. Even though Covid is not a very common disease in children and teens, it can still be dangerous.There are arguments for children being vaccinated to make school safer. However, there is also the possibility that children could be protected from the spread of the disease to their parents. A survey conducted by the Office for National Statistics last month found that nearly 90% of English parents would recommend giving their children vaccines if they were offered.The JCVI recommended that children be vaccinated in July due to the high risk of Covid among extremely vulnerable children. However, it said that it would continue to assess the evidence and make any necessary changes.What are the potential risks?The US, France, Germany, and Israel have all recommended that over-12-year-olds be universally immunized. Although the UK's medicines agency, MHRA, approved use of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine in over-12s in June, there were global reports of myocarditis (an inflammatory heart condition) that could be linked to the vaccine. The JCVI decided to limit the recommendation to children who are most at risk.Adam Finn, a Bristol University professor and a member of JCVI, stated that there was strong evidence that heart inflammation was a safety signal. He also said that side effects can vary between sexes.However, the decision was controversial. Some scientists demanded that the data used by the JCVI be made public. A group of UK scientists published Wednesday a preprint paper that was being reviewed by the Lancet journal. It suggested that vaccination of England's 3.9 million 12- and 17-year-olds prior to September school reopening was critical due to the risk of Covid illness, long Covid, school disruption, and the potential for contracting Covid.Another consideration is the availability of vaccines. Although the UK has millions upon millions of vaccines, many other countries lack sufficient supply or have not vaccinated their most vulnerable populations. It makes sense to spread vaccines so that no one is unsafe until everyone is safe. This would make vaccination of children less important.How will the vaccine be made available to 16- and 17 year-olds?The vaccine is being offered to vulnerable children aged 12 and older, as well as those living with at-risk parents. Although the JCVI has recommended that the vaccine be routinely offered to healthy 16-year-olds and 17-year olds, the committee is still deciding when the second dose will take place. This decision will be based on additional data which will be reviewed over the next few weeks. The first dose program will begin in the next few weeks and parents are not required to consent.
