London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Oct 22, 2025

The risks and rewards of vaccinating UK children against Covid

The risks and rewards of vaccinating UK children against Covid

Analysis: official advisers have called for jabs to be given to children aged 16 and 17 in a rethink of policy

Just weeks ago, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended that children over the age of 12 should only be vaccinated if they were extremely vulnerable or lived with someone at risk, citing concerns about an inflammatory heart condition linked to the Pfizer/BioNTech jab. Now the JCVI has tweaked that decision to allow children aged 16 and 17 to be routinely offered the vaccine.

What is the benefit of vaccinating children?


Most children do not suffer from severe illness due to Covid. But of the proportion of children who do develop any symptoms, studies estimate a fraction of that subset remain symptomatic for longer than four weeks. Like adults, children with underlying conditions – including neurodisabilities, Down’s syndrome or immunosuppression – are at much higher risk of falling seriously ill if they contract Covid. So even though the risks to children and teenagers from catching Covid are very low, they are not entirely absent.

Meanwhile, an argument has been made for vaccinating children to make it safer for them at school, as has the idea that vaccinating children could also be a strategy that could protect vulnerable adults who they could pass the disease on to. The public is also keen on the measure – a survey by the Office for National Statistics, published last month, found that almost 90% of parents in England would favour giving their children a vaccine if offered.

Given the elevated risk from Covid in extremely vulnerable children, the JCVI recommended vaccinating them in mid-July, but said it would continue to evaluate the landscape of emerging evidence and make changes if needed.


What are the risks?


Countries such as the US, Israel, France and Germany have all recommended over-12s be universally vaccinated. The UK’s medicines agency, the MHRA, approved the use of the Pfizer/BioNTech jab in over-12s in early June, but global reports of rare cases of myocarditis, an inflammatory heart condition, linked to the vaccine prompted the JCVI to limit its recommendation to vulnerable children in the UK.

There was pretty much “incontrovertible evidence” that the heart inflammation was a real safety signal, said Adam Finn, a professor of paediatrics at Bristol University and a JCVI member, adding that there were different rates of side-effects between the two sexes.

But the decision was controversial, with some scientists demanding that the data on which the JCVI relied be made publicly available. On Wednesday, a cohort of UK scientists published a preprint paper – under review at the Lancet journal – suggesting that vaccinating England’s 3.9 million 12- to 17-year-olds before school reopening in September was crucial given the risks of Covid illness, long Covid and school disruption posed by contracting Covid.

A separate consideration is vaccine supply. While the UK has millions of doses in place and on order, many countries have limited supply and have not even vaccinated their most at-risk populations. With the likelihood of more potentially vaccine-evading variants developing as a result of patchy vaccination, it makes sense to share vaccines – for no one is safe until everyone is safe. That would make vaccinating children a lower priority.

How will the vaccine be rolled out for 16- and 17-year-olds?


For now, vulnerable children over the age of 12, and those who live with at-risk adults, are being offered the vaccine. The latest JCVI recommendation isto routinely offer the first dose of the vaccine to healthy 16- and 17-year-olds, but the committee is still deliberating on when the second dose will be offered – this decision will depend on additional data that will be reviewed in the coming weeks. The first dose programme is expected to begin in the coming weeks, and will not require parental consent.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Apple Challenges EU Digital Markets Act Crackdown in Landmark Court Battle
Nicolas Sarkozy begins five-year prison term at La Santé in Paris
Japan stocks surge to record as Sanae Takaichi becomes Prime Minister
This Is How the 'Heist of the Century' Was Carried Out at the Louvre in Seven Minutes: France Humiliated as Crown with 2,000 Diamonds Vanishes
China Warns UK of ‘Consequences’ After Delay to London Embassy Approval
France’s Wealthy Shift Billions to Luxembourg and Switzerland Amid Tax and Political Turmoil
"Sniper Position": Observation Post Targeting 'Air Force One' Found Before Trump’s Arrival in Florida
Shouting Match at the White House: 'Trump Cursed, Threw Maps, and Told Zelensky – "Putin Will Destroy You"'
Windows’ Own ‘Siri’ Has Arrived: You Can Now Talk to Your Computer
Thailand and Singapore Investigate Cambodian-Based Prince Group as U.S. and U.K. Sanctions Unfold
‘No Kings’ Protests Inflate Numbers — But History Shows Nations Collapse Without Strong Executive Power
Chinese Tech Giants Halt Stablecoin Launches After Beijing’s Regulatory Intervention
Manhattan Jury Holds BNP Paribas Liable for Enabling Sudanese Government Abuses
Trump Orders Immediate Release of Former Congressman George Santos After Commuting Prison Sentence
S&P Downgrades France’s Credit Rating, Citing Soaring Debt and Political Instability
Ofcom Rules BBC’s Gaza Documentary ‘Materially Misleading’ Over Narrator’s Hamas Ties
Diane Keaton’s Cause of Death Revealed as Pneumonia, Family Confirms
Former Lostprophets Frontman Ian Watkins Stabbed to Death in British Prison
"The Tsunami Is Coming, and It’s Massive": The World’s Richest Man Unveils a New AI Vision
Outsider, Heroine, Trailblazer: Diane Keaton Was Always a Little Strange — and Forever One of a Kind
Dramatic Development in the Death of 'Mango' Founder: Billionaire's Son Suspected of Murder
Two Years of Darkness: The Harrowing Testimonies of Israeli Hostages Emerging From Gaza Captivity
EU Moves to Use Frozen Russian Assets to Buy U.S. Weapons for Ukraine
Europe Emerges as the Biggest Casualty in U.S.-China Rare Earth Rivalry
HSBC Confronts Strategic Crossroads as NAB Seeks Only Retail Arm in Australia Exit
U.S. Chamber Sues Trump Over $100,000 H-1B Visa Fee
Shenzhen Expo Spotlights China’s Quantum Step in Semiconductor Self-Reliance
China Accelerates to the Forefront in Global Nuclear Fusion Race
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
×