Covid: Why are 12-15s now being double-jabbed?

Children aged 12 to 15 are to be offered a second dose of the Covid vaccine.

It’s in response to concerns about the newly identified Omicron variant.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) – which advises UK governments on vaccines – has said 12-15 year olds should be offered a second vaccination – given at least 12 weeks after the first.

This is one of several actions the JCVI said should be taken should the Omicron variant spread more easily or be more severe than the current types of Covid.

Children as young as 16 and 17 years old are offered a second dose.

England and Scotland have already said they will follow the JCVI’s advice and it is likely that it will be accepted in Wales and Northern Ireland.

No. When the vaccine for 12-15 year olds was first introduced, Prof Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, said it was an “offer”.

He said young people and their parents must be supported and their choice should not be stigmatized.

Healthy children aged 12 to 17 are advised to wait 12 weeks after testing positive for coronavirus before receiving their Covid vaccination.

A four-week gap applies to children deemed to be at higher risk because of underlying health conditions or because they live with at-risk adults.

Although parental consent is obtained, children under 16 who can show they understand the risks and benefits can ask for the vaccine — or refuse it — if they disagree with their parents.

This important legal test of whether a child can consent to treatment is called the “Gillick competency”. It’s named after a famous argument in which a teenage girl wanted contraception advice without her mother’s consent.

In practice, it would be extremely unusual for a child under the age of 13 to be assessed as Gillick competent.

Young people aged 16 and 17 do not need parental permission unless there are exceptional circumstances.

Under-18s get the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, although the Moderna vaccine has also been approved for use in children in the UK.

There is currently no vaccine approved for use in children under the age of 12 in the UK.

The MHRA – which regulates medicines in the UK – said today that despite initial concerns about side effects in under-18s, surveillance and a “thorough review” had found the vaccine safe with no “new safety issues”.

Earlier this year, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) said that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been linked to extremely rare cases of heart inflammation in young men. However, the EMA said the benefits of vaccination still far outweigh the risks.

Almost all children and young people are at very low risk from Covid-19.

Data for England suggest around 25 children have died from Covid in the first 12 months of the pandemic.

The majority of them also had serious health problems, including complex neurological disabilities.

Only six had no recorded health problems.

In the year to 31 August 2021 there were around 50 deaths in under-19s, according to Public Health England statistics.

Many countries vaccinate children over the age of 12.

Correction September 21, 2021: A previous version of this article incorrectly implied that the Gillick proficiency test was named after a case involving a mother and daughter, and this line has been changed.