Prof Neil Ferguson said that the UK's vaccine advisory group behaved as a medical regulator by rejecting requests for Covid jabs to all children between 12 and 15.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation said last week that the margin of health benefit for older children was too small to allow the committee support jabs for all age groups.
It recommended that ministers seek additional advice taking into consideration factors like the impact on education. Sources suggest that vaccines for older kids could be recommended this week.
Ferguson, an epidemiologist at Imperial College London, whose initial modeling was crucial in Britain's coronavirus response said that he wouldn't be surprised if UK chief medical officers decided to continue with vaccinations of healthy children 12-15 years old.
Ferguson spoke at an Institute for Government event and said he understood the JCVI's advice to be conservative due to the small risk of myocarditis, which appears to be related to some Covid jabs.
He said that the committee was concerned about long-term follow up data regarding myocarditis as a result of vaccinations. Therefore, they took a more conservative position almost like a medical regulator, which isn't really their role. He also said that the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, (MHRA), had approved the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccinations for children aged 12 and over.
Ferguson said that he believed Covid infection could pose a greater risk to myocarditis than the vaccine, but he acknowledged the lack of data for estimating Covid's risk.
Friday's address by Jeremy Brown, UCL professor of respiratory disease and a member the JCVI, highlighted the differences in the roles of the MHRA (majority health regulator) and JCVI. The MHRA makes a broad decision on whether a product is safe to be used in a particular population. They have determined that the vaccine can be safely used in this population. However, he stated that JCVIs have to make the final call. The MHRA allows you to use a vaccine. We say, "Well, do we really need to?" The answer is no for healthy 12- to 15-year olds. This is because of health reasons.
Ferguson stated that there are wider benefits, including the fact that younger people can be vaccinated to reduce transmission and protect the vulnerable. He said that as long as you are convinced there is an individual benefit, it's okay to include the population benefits.
He stated that the decision on whether to give the vaccine to all children older than 5 years was a difficult one and that he would not criticise the JCVI. He said that vaccinations for older children could still be carried out. He said that it would not surprise me if chief medical officers consider these other factors and decide to continue with vaccination.
