Allowing mass infection of children is ‘reckless’, experts warn

Allowing mass infection of children is “reckless” and all over-12s should be offered a coronavirus vaccine, a group of scientists has warned.

Experts from across the globe, alongside parents, carers and educational staff, have written to education secretary Gavin Williamsonto raise their concerns about the impact of the pandemic on education.

They argue policies in England mean there will soon be a large population “susceptible” to the virus mixing in crowded spaces with “hardly any mitigations”.

Earlier school reopenings in Scotland and the US have shown a lack of “adequate mitigations” is likely to lead to the virus spreading among children, which could further disrupt learning with significant absences due to student and staff illness, they said.

In an open letter published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), they warn: “England’s policies mean that we will soon have a large susceptible population with high prevalence of infection mixing in crowded environments with hardly any mitigations.”

They said children have suffered “significant harms” in the pandemic, including from long Covid, adding: “Allowing mass infection of children is therefore reckless.”

Research led by University College London and Public Health England and published this week found as many as one in seven children who get coronavirus could have symptoms almost four months later.

People who tested positive were twice as likely to report three or more symptoms 15 weeks later than those who tested negative, the study suggested.

But lead author Professor Sir Terence Stephenson said he felt “reassured” by the data, which he believes shows it is “nowhere near what people thought in the worst-case scenario”.

The group behind the letter to Mr Williamson called for vaccines to be offered “to all 12 to 15-year-olds, with rollout in schools to maximise access and uptake”.

They also called for rules on face coverings for secondary school students and staff in classrooms and for bubbles to be reinstated, as well as more investment in building ventilation.

The signatories included scientists from UK, US, Germany, India and Norway.

Members of Independent Sage, the Parent SafeEdForAll group and the National Education Union were among those who added their names to the list.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is yet to give a recommendation on extending the jabs rollout to all healthy 12 to 15-year-olds.

Mr Williamson said this week he hoped a decision would be made “very, very soon”, and indicated his support for a widening of the programme by saying a lot of people “very much hope that we’re in a position of being able to roll out vaccinations for those who are under the age of 16”.

Additional reporting by Press Association