So, why now?
Two months ago, when Omicron was racing towards a peak, and the threat from the variant was considered to be severe, the government’s vaccines advisers decided healthy young children should not have the jab.
Now, when cases are falling fast and Omicron’s bark is known to have been worse than its bite, they’ve changed their mind.
It doesn’t seem at first to make sense, particularly when many other countries have been vaccinating young children for several weeks.
During that lost time, Omicron has swept through primary schools.
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Data from the Office for National Statistics shows that in mid-January almost one in every seven young children had COVID.
Of course, natural infection brings rapid immunity. But the rampaging virus has been disruptive for schools and frustrating for parents.
So why the change of heart by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation?
Why now do the experts recommend all young children are vaccinated, when before it was just those with clinical risk factors?
JCVI waited on more data before giving green light
As always with medicines, it comes down to risk and benefit. And the JCVI is cautious.
Young children rarely have serious consequences from coronavirus.
Of any age group, five to 11-year-olds have the lowest risk.
But the vaccine does reduce the chances of testing positive and missing school.
So, there is a benefit to their education.
Against that there is the question of side effects.
Older children, particularly boys, have a very rare risk of a heart problem called myocarditis, which is why the JCVI agonised over the rollout to 12 to 15-year-olds.
It’s likely the committee wanted the reassurance of data from countries that have been vaccinating the under-11s.
The US and Germany have immunised millions of young children now, and that’s given the JCVI the confidence that myocarditis isn’t an issue.
Relief for parents but many will have to…
Source : skynews
