Secondary school pupils to be offered Covid-19 vaccinations from September under NHS plans
Plans being compiled by NHS officials would see school children receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine after the summer holidays
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Secondary school pupils will be offered Covid-19 vaccinations in September under plans being developed by the NHS, according to The Sunday Times.
The plans, which were reportedly confirmed to be underway by NHS and government sources, involve offering a single dose of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to children aged twelve and up when the new school year begins.
The drive is contingent on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) due this summer, but Pfizer’s trials of its vaccine on children are promising: the pharmaceutical company has reported 100 per cent efficacy and a strong immune response in people aged 12 to 15.
JCVI member Professor Adam Finn told The Times: “We need to be in a position to immunise children, particularly teenagers, promptly and efficiently if we need to. It is extremely important that education in the next academic year is not disrupted in any way.”
Professor Finn has previously said that children had been “frustratingly left behind” in the vaccine programme and that he wanted to “get on” and conduct the necessary trials.
Speaking withTimes Radio on Sunday, Linda Bauld, professor of public health at the University of Edinburgh, also expressed support for the plan to vaccinate students.
“I think we are moving in that direction,” she said, asserting that vaccinating children would “add to herd immunity”.
“If the current trials are promising then I do think (vaccinating children from September) will happen,” she said.
While children are unlikely to fall ill with Covid, they are capable of transmitting the virus.
Covid-19 vaccines are currently being offered to people aged 40 and over, as well as those who are clinically vulnerable. Nearly 15 million people have now received two doses of Covid vaccine.
But around 35 per cent of adults in the UK are yet to receive their first vaccine dose. Because of this, former chief scientific adviser to the government Sir Mark Walport has warned that Covid cases could “reignite”.
The Sage professor told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that the country is on the cusp of being able to loosen more restrictions, but that there is potential for cases to begin rising again.
1,907 people tested positive for Covid-19 on 1 May according to government data, a decrease from the previous seven day average of 2,347 new cases each day.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments