16 and 17-year-olds in the UK will soon be able to receive a first dose of the Covid vaccination, after a recommendation from vaccine experts.
The Joint Committee on Vaccine and Immunisation announced Wednesday that they will not need parental consent to receive the Pfizer-BioNTech jab.
The JCVI has not yet provided any advice on when the second dose should be offered.
Due to the change in guidance, around 1.4 million teenagers will now be eligible for the vaccine.
England’s deputy chief medical officer, Prof Jonathan Van-Tam stated “there are plenty of vaccines available and I’m expecting this to start in a very short number of weeks indeed”
Highlighting those children will begin going back to sixth forms and colleges soon he said, “There is no time to waste in getting on with this, I want us to proceed as fast as is practically possible.”
The JCVI is a group of independent experts who offer their advice to governments. England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales have all confirmed they will follow these recommendations.
Until now, children over 12 have been able to get a jab if they are living with people who are at high risk or have certain health conditions.
Pfizer-BioNTech is the only vaccine currently approved for under-18s in the UK.
Other countries have already been routinely vaccinating children over 12. The US has done so since May, as well some European nations like France and Italy after EU regulators gave them the go-ahead. Other countries that are now doing this include Brazil, Japan, Israel and Hong Kong.
The JCVI was hesitant to take the next step in giving 16 and 17-year-olds jabs because they wanted time to examine all of the risks, benefits, and potential adverse effects. The JCVI noted that there have been reports of rare side effects such as inflammation of heart muscles.
But on Wednesday it said these events were “extremely rare” and usually occurred within a few days after receiving the 2nd dose–typically more so among younger men.
The US data suggests that in males aged 12 to 17 years 9.8 cases of myocarditis were reported per million first doses given, rising to 67 per million after the second dose. Most people recovered quickly. The majority of people recovered quickly.
The JCVI said it expects that one dose of the vaccine would give 16 and 17-year-olds good protection against severe illness, with about 80% protection against hospitalisation.
Professor Lim, who chairs the Covid part of JCVI (Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation) said that this change in advice is not just for wider society but also to benefit teenagers themselves.
He said, “While Covid-19 is typically mild or asymptomatic in most young people, it can be very unpleasant for some.”
When asked about the possibility of rolling out jabs to over-12s, he said that JCVI will review the data but it is a decision they “prefer not to make at this point.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged people to “listen to the JCVI” and get the jab after their announcement. He said, “They are extremely expert, they’re amongst the best if not the best in world – they know what’s safe.”
