While the committee (JCVI) had estimated 10 days ago that the benefit of extending vaccination to 12-15 year olds was marginal, the vaccination strategy takes a new turn in England. Indeed, England will offer 12-15 year olds to be vaccinated against Covid-19 as early as next week after the opinion issued by the chief doctors of the four nations of the United Kingdom.
English people aged 12-15 will be able to be vaccinated against Covid-19
England will offer 12-15 year olds to be vaccinated against Covid-19 as early as next week. This was announced on Monday evening by the government after following the advice given by the chief medical officers of the four nations of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). As stated by Minister of Health Sajid Javid, the vaccination program will be carried out in schools with the consent of parents or officials. The Minister of Health also clarified that the public health service, the NHS, “ stands ready to deploy the vaccine with the same sense of urgency that we have had at every stage of our immunization program “.
Three million adolescents eligible to receive a single dose
Until then, only English children over the age of 12 with health problems as well as 16-17 year olds could be vaccinated against Covid-19. Now, three million adolescents aged 12 to 15 are eligible for vaccination in the UK. However, for the time being, they will only be able to receive a single dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine. Indeed, the four British chief medical officers asked the committee to decide on the administration of a second dose to adolescents of this age group, when there is more scientific data available in the world.
Reduce disruption in teaching
In their recommendation, the chief doctors explained that they had taken into account the impact of the pandemic on the education of adolescents. This is why they explained that vaccination could help reduce disruption in education as the Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Chris Whitty, said at a conference: “ We believe this is a useful additional tool to help reduce the impact on public health caused by disruptions in education. “.
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