London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

Children are less likely to die from Covid-19 than be hit by lightning according to UK study

A new study has found that children under the age of 15 are more likely to be struck by lightning than die from Covid-19.

Scientists from the universities of Cambridge and Oxford have appealed for a “rational debate” on the “tiny” risk to children. They have also argued that if no vaccine is found soon enough, younger people should be allowed to carry on with their lives while people who are more at risk of coronavirus remain shielded.

It comes amid debates as to whether schoolchildren should be returning to classrooms soon as planned by the government.

The government has been scrutinised after Gavin Williamson, the Education Secretary, withdrew plans to have all primary school students return to school before the summer break.

He told the Commons that under a new strategy the Government would prefer that schools that "have the capacity" take in more students if they are able to before the summer holidays.

Downing Street caused further confusion by saying that in September, secondary schools should bring back “more pupils”, rather than all students.

MPs and peers have questioned why the Government insists in reopening non-essential shops instead of allowing more children to go back to primary and secondary schools.

Cambridge University used latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures for a research showing that the risk to children from Covid-19 is remarkably minor.

The current death figure for five to 14 year-olds in England and Wales is just one in 3.5 million. For under-5s, it is one in 1.17 million.

Research undertaken by The Telegraph shows that children are far more at risk of being struck by lightning.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (Rospa), found that between 30 and 60 people are hit by lightning each year in Britain, representing a risk of between one in 2.21 million and one in 1.1 million annually.

Prof Sir David Spiegelhalter, chairman of the Winton Centre for Risk at Cambridge University, spoke at a briefing about the new ONS figures.

He suggested the danger to children was "tiny”, adding that previous generations had let children contract infections when they posed a lower risk.

“In school kids aged five to 14 it’s not only a tiny risk, it’s a tiny proportion of the normal risk,” said Sir David, who is a member of the government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage).

“I remember the pre-vaccination era and I was sent round to play with friends with measles, mumps and chickenpox.

“I’m not suggesting this is the public health solution to his, but if no vaccines come along you might be thinking that.

"If, years in future, we don’t have a vaccine then we might have to think about how to protect those age groups most at risk while younger people can continue with their lives.

“I don’t think that will ever involve encouraging people to get infected."

Lord Blunkett, who was Education secretary in Tony Blair's government, blamed the Government of a "triumph of fear over ambition" as he appealed for a "national effort to give all children a face to face experience before the end of July".

He told BBC Radio 4's World At One: "To be honest, I think it is a lack of will, it is a lack of 'can do'.

"It is a failure to do what we have already done with the health service and economy, which is to say there are challenges, there are real problems but we are going as a nation to seek to overcome them.

"Why is it that other countries, not just in Europe but across the world, can have the ambition to get their children, in all kinds of creative ways, back into school and we can't?

"I can only conclude that the Government is losing the plot."

He added: "I just know that we've got to do this. If we can set up the Nightingale hospitals in the time we did, why on Earth can't we invest in the future of our children?"

Justine Greening, Education secretary from 2016 to 2018, argued that it was "untenable to still have no Government plan to get schools reopened".

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×