Kay Burley slams guest for ‘absurd’ point in vaccine debate
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Children as young as five years old could soon be on the list to get their Covid jabs. The move would need to be approved beforehand by Britain’s medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), which so far has only approved vaccines for children aged 12 and above. The UK’s leading paediatrician body has condemned leaked plans which indicate the NHS could begin jabbing children in early 2021.
The vaccine rollout is one of the Government’s primary focuses in its coronavirus defence plan.
Health authorities are urging all clinically vulnerable individuals and anyone aged 40 and above to schedule their booster vaccines in a bid to prolong vaccine protection throughout the critical winter months.
However, children under the age of 12 in the UK have yet to receive the jab.
All children aged 12 and over have been invited to receive a Covid vaccine – in the hopes, the measure will help prevent further disruption to their education.
The chief medical officer for England Professor Chief Whitty said children aged 12 and over are being offered the vaccine – but an official recommendation has not been made urging them to get jabbed.
Professor Whitty said absence from school “has been extraordinarily difficult for children” during the pandemic, particularly in deprived areas.
Vaccinating children should help keep cases down, although it will not stop the spread of Covid in schools.
Evidence suggests a single jab cuts the risk of catching the Delta variant by about 55 percent.
A single dose of the Covid vaccine also reduces the chances of getting very sick or spreading it to someone else.
Children as young as five could soon be offered Covid vaccines according to a “leaked NHS plan”.
The secret NHS plans, seen by The Sun, indicates those who receive the jab could soon change, with asking parents for permission to vaccinate young children “is in the schedule”.
According to The Sun, leaked proposals suggest health bosses could see the rollout extended to children aged five to 11 in the spring.
The UK’s medical regulator, the MHRA could need to approve jabs of this age group first.
If the MHRA did extend the licence for younger children, the Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunisation (JCVI) would advise the Government on how to interpret such a guidance change before the vaccines would be rolled out.
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The Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has condemned the move – calling for better real-world evidence of the risks to the heart before widening the rollout further.
Britain’s top paediatric body said vaccinating primary school children is premature.
Young children face a minuscule risk of serious disease from COVID-19.
A recent study showed only six healthy children have died as a result of the virus in England since the pandemic began.
Dr David Elliman, an immunisation expert at the RCPCH, said: “You have to be absolutely certain, if that is your primary reason, that you’re not going to do any harm to the children.
“The uncertainty for five to 11 at the moment is great.
“People will be demanding more evidence than we have in the UK before we go ahead with it.”
Recent studies indicate there is a correlation between a very small risk of a heart inflammation condition called myocarditis associated with the Pfizer Covid jab.
Two research studies from Israel found the risk is very low.
One, including more than five million Pfizer recipients, discovered 136 cases, while the other study of more than 2.5 million identified just 54 cases.
In these studies, the vast majority of patients only suffered mild inflammation and recovered quickly.
Dr Elliman added studies on the longer-term impacts of the Covid vaccines on children’s hearts are needed.
He said the UK could look to the USA to provide this information, as the USA began vaccinating children as young as five a while ago.
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