What Covid vaccine will 16 and 17 year olds get? Q&A

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Health chiefs have recommend all 16 and 17-year-olds get jabs, marking a dramatic U-turn.

Just two weeks ago the same expert panel — the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) — advised against doing so.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid accepted the advice and asked the NHS to prepare to vaccinate the group as soon as possible, which is expected to be in the next couple of weeks.

At a Downing Street press conference this afternoon, JCVI chair Professor Wei Shen Lim revealed it has not been decided when older teenagers will get their second dose, as scientists are waiting for more data.

He confirmed that children will be able to overrule their parents and opt to get the vaccine without their permission. 

But experts are divided over the hugely controversial topic of vaccinating children, given their tiny risk of dying or falling seriously ill. 

Some countries — including the US and Israel — have already started, which made Britain an outlier in so far only vaccinating the most at-risk over-12s.

As plans to vaccinate children in the are due to be unveiled by No10’s scientists, MailOnline answers your questions about the roll-out to youngsters.

When will children be vaccinated? 

Those aged 16 and 17 will be offered the jab ‘in a very short number of weeks’, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, England’s deputy chief medical officer, said today. 

At a Downing Street press conference, he said: ‘I want us to proceed as quickly as practically possible. 

‘That isn’t going to be tomorrow. I don’t think its likely to be early next week. But I can tel you the NHS has been kept informed of what has been deliberated and it has been preparing for multiple permutations and options for weeks.’

How long will it be until they get their second dose? 

Even if the roll-out out to older teenagers began straight away, there will only be time to give them one dose before the school year begins on September 6.  

There are currently no concrete plans to offer the age groups second doses, with scientists set to review more safety data before pressing ahead.

Professor Shen Lim said second doses will be offered ‘sometime later’. 

As it stands, Britain’s health chiefs say jabs should be dished out eight weeks apart, in order to give the immune system the biggest boost.

Why have scientists not committed to second doses?  

Professor Lim explained that the JCVI will provide another update in the coming weeks with advice regarding the exact details of the second dose. 

He said: ‘The reason for warning to provide advice on the second dose separately, is because we are expecting more data to accumulate in the coming weeks. And that means we can offer advice that is the most up to date and relevant.’  

Will jabs be dished out in schools?

Jabs could be administered in schools, like how the HPV vaccine is rolled out for 12 and 13 year old boys and girls.

But Education Secretary Gavin Williamson is expected to push for them to continue to be given at GP surgeries and NHS hubs. 

One public health official claimed they could be done either in schools, or in existing vaccination centres at certain times. 

What vaccine will youngsters get?

The UK has so far only approved Pfizer’s coronavirus jab for use in children over 12. 

Health chiefs today confirmed it would be Pfizer given to 16 and 17-year-olds. 

Moderna’s vaccine — which works in a similar way — has not been given the green light for youngsters.

AstraZeneca’s injection has been linked to rare blood clots, and health chiefs have already restricted its use to over 40s. Therefore, the British-made vaccine is unlikely to be offered to children.

Over-16s are expected to receive two injections eight weeks apart, mirroring how Pfizer’s is given to adults. 

Scientists are currently testing nasal spray forms of the Covid vaccine — a method already used to give out children’s flu jabs. But none of the candidates being studied have yet to make it out of trials. 

Which countries have already began vaccinating children? 

Britain is currently the ‘outlier’, with European countries and the US already giving vaccines to children. 

A quarter of children aged 12 to 15 in the US have received two doses, while a third have received one dose.

France, and Spain, Hungary have already starting giving the jab to over-12s, while 10 per cent of children are already vaccinated in Germany. 

Meanwhile, Canada, Denmark, Austria, Italy, Lithuania, Estonia, Norway, Switzerland, are expected to start giving youngsters jabs soon.

Israel approved the jabs for over-12s in May and subsequently approved it for 5 to 11-year-olds.  

What jabs are they using?

Pfizer has been the go-to jab for vaccinating children around the world.

But Moderna is seeking permission for its jab to be used for over-12s in the EU, US and Canada.

Last week, Italy approved Modern’s jab for use in over-12s.

Have they been trialled on children?

The companies that make the vaccines, as well as other scientists, have studied how safe they are among children. 

Pfizer and Moderna found their jab to pose little risk in over 12s and are now trialling the injection in under-11s. 

Rigorous analysis also revealed the jabs were effective.

The JCVI said a trial of 1,000 12 to 15-year-olds who received the Pfizer jab found it to be effective and only cause short-term side effects like a fever.

University of Oxford scientists are testing the AstraZeneca jab on children aged six to 17.

So what are the potential risks?  

Covid is very rarely severe or fatal in children.

Just one in 500,000 under-18s are at risk of dying from the virus, researchers at leading UK universities found this month.

That means any vaccine given to youngsters has to be very safe because the risk-harm benefit from them catching the virus is so low.  

Since the vaccine roll-out has been expanded to children around the world, there have been reports of rare heart conditions: myocarditis and pericarditis.

Myocarditis is the inflammation of the heart muscle, while pericarditis is when the protective layer around the heart gets inflamed.

Data from the US shows those aged 12-17 are at the most risk of developing the heart problem after a Covid jab, compared to other age groups.

Around one in 14,500 to 18,000 children are thought to develop the condition. The risk drops to one in 250,000 among over 30s.  

There are no specific causes of the conditions but they are usually triggered by a virus.

The British Heart Foundation says in some cases, myocarditis can affect the heart’s electrical system, stopping it from pumping properly. ‘This can cause an abnormal heart rhythm, known as an arrhythmia,’ it claims.

But British regulators insist the 250 cases seen among Pfizer recipients are ‘typically mild’. Affected patients recover ‘within a short time with standard treatment’.  

Will parents have to give consent for the jabs?

It has been one of the most controversial issues surrounding the roll-out to kids, but scientists said today that parents will not be able to decide whether their child gets the vaccine.

JCVI chair professor Wei Shen Lim clarified : ‘In the UK a person who is 16 years and above is deemed able to consent for themselves and if they are competent and able to consent for themselves then that consent holds.’

Government sources had claimed last night that under-18s wanting the jab would have to provide proof of parental consent.

But hinting at the JCVI’s stance, universities minister Michelle Donelan would not confirm that would be the case when quizzed about the move this morning.

Will more young people be offered the vaccine?

As it stands, at-risk 12 to 15-year-olds are already eligible for the vaccine, but health chiefs hinted that more people in this age group could be offered the jab in the future.

Children in that age group are already eligible if they have a severe neurodisability, Down’s syndrome, underlying conditions resulting in immunosuppression, profound or multiple learning disabilities, severe learning disabilities, or those who are on the learning disability register.

But Professor Van-Tam said: ‘We have asked the JCVI to continue to review that list on an ongoing basis and my sense is that it is more likely rather than less likely that that risk will broaden over time as data becomes available.’

What are the benefits of vaccinating children?

Scientists cite young people’s own protection from the catching the virus and suffering from severe disease, as well as long Covid symptoms as a main benefit for getting the jab.

But vaccinating children can also cause ‘knock on benefits across the whole population’ by reducing infection and transmission rates, researchers at Imperial College London found. 

This is because the third wave of the pandemic was driven by high infection rates in people aged 12 to 24, they said.

Experts found this group made up 50 per cent of all cases, despite representing just a quarter of the population. 

Will children be incentivised to come forward?

It is not yet clear what, if any, incentives will be offered to older teenagers to encourage them to get vaccinated.

But with younger adults being offered discounts for takeaways and taxis, ministers may make offerings to 16 and 17-year-olds.

Asked whether teens could be offered cash to come forward, Ms Donelan refused to rule it out.

She said: ‘We look at a variety of mechanisms to encourage young people.

‘I think the biggest incentive is to protect their own health and protect the health of their friends and their loved ones and we are seeing young people come forward every day and get vaccinated. 

‘But we will keep everything on the table and review all options for incentivising everybody to get the vaccine.’