UK vaccine panel does not recommend COVID vaccines for healthy 12- to 15-year-olds

Reuters ^ | 3 Sep 2021 | Alistair Smout

[CondoleezzaProtege]

LONDON, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Britain's vaccine advisers said they were not recommending the vaccination of all 12- to 15-year-olds against COVID-19, preferring a precautionary approach in healthy children due to a rare side effect of heart inflammation.

The advice could see Britain pursue a different approach to the United States, Israel and some European countries, which have rolled out vaccinations to children more broadly.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on Friday said children with underlying conditions that made them more at risk from COVID-19 should get vaccinated.

For healthy children, there was still a small benefit from receiving COVID-19 vaccination, and advisers said the risk-benefit was "finely balanced".

However, the JCVI said it wanted more information on the long-term effects of rare reports of heart inflammation, known as myocarditis, in young people following vaccination with Pfizer's shot.

"Of course these vaccines do work and would be beneficial to children in terms of preventing infection and disease, but the number of serious cases that we see of COVID in children this age are really very small," JCVI member Adam Finn told Reuters.

[bgill]

That same heart inflammation, etc. occurs in every age.

[grey_whiskers]

Thanks, CondolezzaProtege. *PING* to the rest of you.

[mewzilla]

Apparently this did not go over well...

KIDS IN CHARGE Teenagers will be able to over-rule their parents & get Covid jab – if doctors say they are ‘competent’, minister admits

[bagster]

Now doctors can determine 'competency'.

Is there anything they CAN'T do?

#godlings

[Trillian]

For healthy children, there was still a small benefit from receiving COVID-19 vaccination, and advisers said the risk-benefit was "finely balanced".

Liars.