UK minister on 'ambitious' booster jab plans

The British vaccines minister defended the government's decision to offer coronavirus vaccines to children 12 and up, saying Britain has "some of the best clinical advice in the world."

The UK decided Monday to follow other countries, as the government gambled that expanded vaccination and mild tweaks to social behaviour can avert the need for lockdowns in the winter.

Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said the government had accepted the recommendation and would start the vaccinations next week.

Vaccinations for children and booster shots for at-risk adults are part of a “tool kit” to control COVID-19 infections this fall and winter that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce Tuesday at a news conference.

Zahawi assured fellow lawmakers that parental consent for the vaccination would be sough.

He did add that "only in the very rare circumstances where a parent withholds consent for the child wants to be vaccinated" can children make the decision for themselves, after being "deemed to be legally competent" by a panel.

Answering questions on the fairness of booster jabs when compared to vaccine shortages in other countries, Zahawi said that Britain had already donated 9 million out of the 100 million doses Britain is set to deliver through the COVAX programme.

On Monday, the chief medical officers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland recommended that children aged 12 to 15 be given a single dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, despite the government’s vaccine advisors saying this month that the step would have only marginal health benefits.

Other countries - including the United States, Canada, France and Italy - already offer coronavirus vaccines to children 12 and up, but Britain has held off. It is currently inoculating people 16 and up, almost 90% of those eligible have had at least one vaccine dose.

Earlier this month, Britain’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation said vaccines should be given to 12- to 15-year-olds with underlying health conditions.

But it did not back a rollout to healthy children, who are at low risk of serious illness from the virus, saying the direct health benefits were marginal.

However, it said there might be wider societal factors to consider, such as on education or children acting as sources of transmission to more vulnerable groups.

The chief medical officers said Monday that vaccination would help limit transmission of the virus in schools and help children’s mental health by reducing disruption to education.

IMAGE: AP