UK health regulators announced that they will not recommend Covid-19 vaccinations for healthy kids, saying “the margin of benefit is considered too small to support universal vaccination of healthy 12- to 15-year-olds at this time.”
UK vaccine advisory committee rules against vaccinating 12-15 year olds
"margin of benefit is too small to support universal vaccination of healthy 12- to 15-year-olds at this time” https://t.co/X4ywhro5Gn
— David Zweig (@davidzweig) September 3, 2021
From The Guardian:
In a move that highlights a growing divide between government and scientific advisers over the next phase of the vaccination programme, ministers will seek extra evidence which may help overturn the watchdog’s verdict.
In a statement on Friday, after days of speculation, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said that while the health gains from vaccinating the entire age group were greater than the risks, “the margin of benefit is considered too small to support universal vaccination of healthy 12- to 15-year-olds at this time”.
Instead, the committee recommended an expansion to an existing programme of vaccinations for older children with health conditions, including heart disease, type 1 diabetes and severe asthma, increasing the eligible cohort to about 200,000.
But ministers “could defy JCVI and go ahead with Covid jabs for all 12- to 15-year-olds” anyway:
If they do defy the science – the very ‘science’ they have claimed to have been following – will the blind see then?!
Ministers could defy JCVI and go ahead with Covid jabs for all 12- to 15-year-olds | Vaccines and immunisation | The Guardian https://t.co/XzlA3CldKW
— Jason Vale (@juicemaster) September 3, 2021
And universal vaccination could still happen, just “not right away”:
NEW: JCVI has *not* recommended rollout of vaccines to all 12-15 year olds, BUT has held out option for ministers to take wider advice and overrule them, taking into account factors like impact on schooling.
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) September 3, 2021
It’s all a bit complex: JCVI remit is only health benefits/risks to kids, and they say the “marginal benefit is insufficient to support a universal offer”. Thus they are only expanding jab programme to more kids with clinical vulnerabilities. However…
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) September 3, 2021
JCVI says they want wider issues looked at. So chief medical officers of the four UK nations will spend a few days looking at it, and report back. We might yet get universal vaccination for older kids. Just not right away.
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) September 3, 2021
Also, some schools are moving forward with vaccines:
Just read this story, and yet an email from the headmaster at my kids' school this week said the exact opposite: "there are plans to vaccinate all secondary
school students this term". Glad that's clear then.https://t.co/n6LwoT037O— Stuart Dredge (@stuartdredge) September 3, 2021
And let the debate begin:
UK vaccine advisory group advises against universal vaccination of children for now.
Big call.
Is it right? Not sure.
I am sure that I'm glad not to be the one to have to make the decision.#VaccinesWork
— Neil Stone (@DrNeilStone) September 3, 2021
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