NHS sites across the UK are being prepared to vaccinate 12-15 year olds, the BBC reported today, as the government steps up efforts to halt a rising wave of Covid infections.
While officially the government has yet to make a decision, several reports have suggested the plan is to start vaccinations ahead of the September return to school.
"No decisions have been made on vaccinating 12-15 year olds and it is inaccurate to suggest otherwise," the Health Department said in an emailed statement reported by Reuters today.
"Ministers have not yet received further advice from the JCVI on this cohort. We continue to plan for a range of scenarios to ensure we are prepared for all eventualities," the Health Department said in its statement, referring to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
The Telegraph reported yesterday that NHS trusts were readying for a "possible rollout of a 12 to 15-year-old healthy child vaccination programme commencing Sept. 6".
Children would receive a jab without the need for parental consent, said the report.
Earlier this month, the JCVI recommended all children aged 16-17 should be vaccinated, while those living with adults classified as vulnerable are also being offered a jab.
However, 16-17 years old will only get one jab with no second dose scheduled.
Prof Russell Viner told the BBC today that vaccinating teenagers would be to protect adults rather than the young as the benefits for them are low, which means the JCVI has be been extremely careful before going ahead
Rare cases of heart inflammation are one of the issues being debated, he added.
Earlier this week, JCVI member, Prof Adam Finn, told Sky News that the committee was taking a "very cautious" approach.
Britain has just ordered a further 35mln doses of Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine, which along with Moderna’s is being administered to people under thirty.
AstraZeneca PLC’s Covid-19 vaccine, meanwhile, is increasingly being limited to the older generation seemingly due to earlier reports of blood clots, though subsequent studies have suggested its record is no different from the other vaccines.