Coronavirus vaccines are not currently being recommended for healthy children aged 12 to 15 in the UK, following an assessment by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
The independent regulator advised on Friday that the health benefits from coronavirus vaccination are only marginally greater than the potential known harms for those in the age 12 to 15 category. The UK’s four chief medical officers are to now provide further advice to the UK’s governments on the vaccination of young people and the different potential impacts of the pandemic on young people and schools.
The latest assessment does not mean that young people will definitely not be vaccinated at some stage, but government ministers are not being advised currently to offer vaccines to these age groups.
Currently, the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are approved for use by the MHRA medicines agency for people over the age of 12, though the JCVI had not advised their routine use for young people under the age of 16.
Young people aged 12-15 who have some underlying health conditions are though already eligible for the jab, and the list of people eligible has been expanded by the JCVI on Friday.
To date, 88.6% of people in the UK aged 16 or over have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine.
