Vaccinating children: it’s decision time for the health secretary as kids return to school
Sajid Javid readying NHS England to roll out jab for children over 12, amid fears infections will rocket
“Follow the science” was once the Government’s “mantra” on Covid, said Peter Walker and Nicola Davis in The Guardian. It is heard less often these days, because – on the sensitive question of vaccinating 12- to 15-year-old children – science and politics are leading in “very different directions”.
The Health Secretary Sajid Javid is now readying NHS England to roll out the jab for children over 12, amid fears that Covid-19 infections will rocket as children start returning to school this week. But the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is still deliberating on the policy.
It’s true that the issue raises difficult questions. Children are mainly at very low risk of serious illness from Covid-19. And some JCVI members want further research on the potential side effects of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which have been linked to rare cases of heart inflammation in young people. But the political pressure for a decision is mounting fast.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The scientists have been “sifting data” for long enough, said The Times. Now is the moment for the Government to “take the initiative and extend the vaccination programme”. Ministers are right to be concerned about the “spikes” in infection rates that have come with opening up society and the economy.
Worryingly, the number of those hospitalised with Covid in England recently reached 6,000 for the first time in five months, and “data shows that children, especially adolescents, can play a prominent role in transmission”. Germany, France and the US are all vaccinating their schoolchildren already. With the autumn term beginning and the risk of new variants, we can’t afford to waste any time.
Not so fast, said Naomi Firsht in The Daily Telegraph. Back in July, the JCVI concluded that the “minimal health benefits” of universal vaccination for children “do not outweigh the potential risks”. Then it reversed its advice, to recommend that 16- to 17-year-olds get the vaccine. Now a roll-out is being planned for secondary schools; and there are rumours that the vaccine could be given to 12- to 15-year-olds “without parental consent”. How on earth did we get here?
It’s quite wrong: “it is not the job of our children to protect us”. We should let children themselves decide whether to have the jab, said Victoria Richards in The Independent. Under-16s can agree to vaccination without parental consent–under the well-established “Gillick competency test” – if they fully understand its implications. Isn’t that the best and simplest way? Let the children make their own choices about their own bodies.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Nigeria's worsening rate of maternal mortality
Under the radar Economic crisis is making hospitals unaffordable, with women increasingly not receiving the care they need
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Elevating Earth Day into a national holiday is not radical — it's practical'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
UAW scores historic win in South at VW plant
Speed Read Volkswagen workers in Tennessee have voted to join the United Auto Workers union
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Covid four years on: have we got over the pandemic?
Today's Big Question Brits suffering from both lockdown nostalgia and collective trauma that refuses to go away
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The hollow classroom
Opinion Remote school let kids down. It will take much more than extra tutoring for kids to recover.
By Mark Gimein Published
-
Excess screen time is making children only see what is in front of them
Under the radar The future is looking blurry. And very nearsighted.
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Covid-19: what to know about UK's new Juno and Pirola variants
in depth Rapidly spreading new JN.1 strain is 'yet another reminder that the pandemic is far from over'
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Long-term respiratory illness is here to stay
The Explainer Covid is not the only disease with a long version
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Covid inquiry: the most important questions for Boris Johnson
Talking Point Former PM has faced weeks of heavy criticism from former colleagues at the public hearing
By The Week Staff Published
-
China's pneumonia cases: should we be worried?
The Explainer Experts warn against pushing 'pandemic panic button' following outbreak of respiratory illness
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet, The Week UK Published
-
Vallance diaries: Boris Johnson 'bamboozled' by Covid science
Speed Read Then PM struggled to get his head around key terms and stats, chief scientific advisor claims
By The Week UK Published