No decision yet on Covid vaccines for children: UK govt

(Representative photo)

Britain’s health department said it has not made any decision on Covid-19 vaccines for 12 to 15 year olds after the Telegraph reported the National Health Service (NHS) planned vaccinations from the first week children return to school in September. “No decisions have been made on vaccinating 12-15 year olds and it is inaccurate to suggest otherwise,” the department said in a statement. NHS trusts were told to prepare for the “possible rollout of a 12 to 15-year-old healthy child vaccination programme commencing September 6”, the newspaper reported, citing emails sent by NHS England’s regional offices. Health officials said children would not need parental consent to be vaccinated under the school vaccination programme, the newspaper reported without identifying the officials. “Ministers have not yet received further advice from the JCVI on this cohort. We continue to plan for a range of scenarios to ensure we are prepared for all eventualities,” the health department said in its statement, referring to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation. Meanwhile, a survey published yesterday revealed that the public’s view of the government’s management of the coronavirus crisis has turned negative for the first time since February and they are worried about the risk of a new wave of infections. Against a backdrop of a renewed rise in cases caused by the Delta variant of the virus, Kantar Public said 48% of people it polled thought the government was handling Covid-19 poorly, up three points from July, while 43% said it was doing well, down six points. Two-thirds of respondents were concerned that there would be further waves of Covid-19 infections after the summer compared with 28% who were not concerned.