By Ben Kerrigan-
A decision on whether to extend Covid vaccinations to 12- to 15-year-olds is expected to be announced within the next 24hours, after days of increasing pressure on the government’s vaccinations watchdog to approve the idea.
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The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) held a long meeting abiut the issue on Thursday, to end speculation about the scheme as pupils return to schools for the new semester next week. The wait is believed to be a formality, as most observers expect the approval to be made , given the trend for the UK to follow the steps taken by other countries including the U.S and israel.
Ministers are in a hurry to see the programme take off in the face of fear and warnings from scientists of a surge in infections when schools The Department of Health and Social Care is keen to see vaccinations begin in schools, as pupils return next week to begin the new semester.
Last week the department announced that it had asked the NHS for it to start in early September, pending JCVI approval, “to be ready to hit the ground
Members of the group have been assessing the net health benefits of vaccination to an age bracket less likely to suffer from serious coronavirus illness effects, and the end goal of reducing the chances of students becoming infect4 ed in the first instance.
In the midst of the plans, there has been a raging debate by members of the public about the drive for double vaccination, given the fact that fully jabbed people are still prone to catching the virus. The official line from the British government is that double vaccinations reduces the chances of both being infected and being hospitalised, but does not eliminate the possibility of either scenario. Prof Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick University, said trials and evidence from other countries’ programmes had been reassuring.
“Vaccination will also reduce the ability of youngsters to spread the virus and will prevent the generation of new variants,” he said.
“Perhaps the most significant benefit of vaccinating this group is to protect their wellbeing by ensuring that there are no further disruptions to their education. This is much better, surely, than exposing children to infection and seeing what happens.”
The Eye Of Media.Com has been carefully examining the degree of protection scientists say vaccination affords the public, in particular teenagers , and have been communicating with the UK government in this respect amid scepticism that the probability of protection may have been plucked out of thin air.
The government has pointed to conducted research in other countries which it uses to estimate the degree of protection the vaccine affords to various age groups. They are being studied and examined.
Jeremy Hunt, the former health secretary who heads the Commons health and social care committee, has called for the UK to follow the example of Israel and widen any booster programme to all individuals eligible for a Covid vaccination.
Hunt told the Times: “I understand why there is an ethical debate about giving jabs to teenagers but surely Israel shows we should not be hanging around in getting booster jabs out to adults.”
Anti- vaxers are strongly opposed to the idea of school pupils being vaccinated, and have wrongly been spreading the view that school pupils will not require parental consent, an error of fact the government have corrected for the records.
Meanwhile, a teaching union has warned that rules requiring students to self-isolate if they come into close contact with someone who has tested positive for Covid may need to be reintroduced in the event of a surge in cases.
The NASUWT said ministers must not “cross their fingers and hope for the best” if numbers begin to increase following the start of the school year.
However, Education Secretary, Gavin Williamson, said he will “move heaven and earth” to avoid shutting schools again, but did not rule out a rise in Covid-19 infections being caused by children going back to class.
His comments come as schools and unions explore the possibility of classes and assemblies having to take place outside during this academic year amid coronavirus outbreaks in schools.
Pupils across England and Wales have begun to return to the classroom this week after the summer holidays.
The NASUWT is calling for the Government to step up coronavirus control measures in schools.
Dr Patrick Roach, the union’s general secretary, said: “Ministers must not risk complacency or follow a strategy of crossing their fingers and hoping for the best if the number of Covid cases rises following school reopening.
“We only need to look across the border to Scotland to see that there has been a steep increase in Covid cases among school-age pupils within just a couple of weeks.
“In the event of rising case numbers, ministers will need to consider the reintroduction of the requirement for pupils to self-isolate when they have been in close contact with someone who has tested positive.”