The medical officers of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland recommended on Monday that all 12 to 15-year-olds should be offered a COVID-19 vaccine in a letter addressed to each of the health ministers in the four territories of the United Kingdom
LONDON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th September, 2021) The medical officers of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland recommended on Monday that all 12 to 15-year-olds should be offered a COVID-19 vaccine in a letter addressed to each of the health ministers in the four territories of the United Kingdom.
The decision comes despite the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) had concluded last week that the benefits of the jab for healthy teens exceeded the risks by a small margin, so only those vulnerable should be given the jab.
Following the JCVI's advice, the government had sought a second opinion from the medical chiefs, who said they were recommending the COVID-19 for all 12-15-year-olds on "public health grounds" as it was "likely vaccination will help reduce transmission of Covid-19 in schools."
Having a significant proportion of pupils vaccinated is likely to reduce the probability of such events which are likely to cause local outbreaks in, or associated with, schools, they said.
The UK's medical officers warned, however, that it is essential that teenagers and their parents are supported in their decisions and are not stigmatized either for accepting, or not accepting, the offer to receive the vaccine.
As of Monday, over 44 million people accounting for 81% of the UK's population aged 16 or older had received both doses of the vaccines available in the country AstraZeneca/Oxford, Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna.
In the case of the 12 to 15-year-olds, the medical chiefs recommended the government to offer them a first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab and then ask the JCVI for advice on whether and what second dose to give to them once more data in this age group has been available internationally.
