Why should children have the vaccine?
Children will usually have a mild or asymptomatic illness
and are very unlikely to die if they contract Covid-19. But they can sometimes
have a prolonged illness that can result in them being absent from school and
which can also occasionally lead to serious long-term complications, such as
Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome. Children can also transmit infection to
others at higher risk of serious illness and death, such as their parents and
grandparents.
Will all under-18s get the jab or specific groups/age
groups?
Covid-19 vaccines will only be made available to children
once we have good evidence of their safety and efficacy, and they have been licensed
for use in children in the UK by the MHRA. It’s likely that any vaccination
programme for children will start with those old enough to attend secondary
school (above the age of 11 years), with vaccinations for younger children
starting later.
Will it be compulsory?
Childhood vaccinations are not compulsory in the UK and are
only given with parental consent.
Does it have to be an injection?
All the Covid-19 vaccinations in use in the UK, or which are
close to being approved, are given by injection. It will be sometime, perhaps
years, before we have vaccines that can be given by other routes, such as the
nasal influenza vaccine that is used in children.
Will babies get it when they get their other jabs?
The timing of vaccination will depend on the results of
research studies and the conditions put in place by the MHRA and guidance from
the JCVI. Hence, we cannot yet say if younger children will be able to get the
vaccine at the same time as their other vaccinations. But if this was possible,
this would make vaccination more straightforward for children, parents and the
NHS.
Will children get it at school or elsewhere?
This has not been decided yet but if vaccines are given to
school-age children, this would be easier to carry out in schools as we currently
do for the influenza vaccine for children. However, the government may also
decide to use the NHS Covid-19 vaccine centres because some vaccines – such as
the Pfizer mRNA vaccine – are not very easy to transport.
Are children getting vaccines in other countries? What
has happened?
There are trials underway in some countries, such as the USA
and UK, to test the safety and efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines in children.
Israel has started to use vaccines in 16-17 year olds. Some children aged 16-17
years old in the UK with serious medical problems are also being vaccinated. However,
the use of Covid-19 vaccines in children is not yet widespread, even for older
children.
Does it mean children who aren’t vaccinated won’t be able
to travel abroad?
It’s likely that children will be excluded from the need to
provide proof of vaccination to travel overseas as there are not yet any
vaccines that are approved for use for them. They may though require a recent
negative test for Covid-19 before they can travel. It’s also possible that some
countries will change their rules once Covid-19 vaccination becomes common in
children.
If every person in Britain is vaccinated, will Covid be
eradicated?
Only one disease, smallpox, has been entirely eradicated
through vaccination. Some people will refuse to be vaccinated and in those who
are vaccinated, the vaccines are not 100% effective in preventing infection, although
they are very effective at preventing serious illness and death. Hence, we will
still see cases of Covid-19 in the UK but if we have very high vaccine uptake
in our population, we are unlikely to see large outbreaks unless a new variant
of virus appears that is resistant to current vaccines.
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