HM’s Government should “definitely look into” offering Covid vaccines to children over 12, former Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has said.
The Conservative MP told reporters it should be considered because children can ‘spread the disease to older people’, even if they are at low risk themselves.
He also said it was “encouraging” the United States had recently authorised the Pfizer jab for over-12s.
Hunt said: “Vaccinating children is something we definitely need to look into.
“And I’m sure we will, because they can transmit the virus across generations, even if they’re not badly affected themselves.
“I think it’s encouraging the US has approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine for the over-12s. I would expect something similar here too.”
No decisions have yet been made about vaccinating children in the UK, the Pfizer vaccine is currently approved for use in over-16s in the UK, with the AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines authorised for over-18s.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said the UK government has secured enough Pfizer for children to be vaccinated, if licences are granted.
On Monday, Mr Hancock who is responsible for vaccines policy in England, said ministers wanted to be “very careful and sensitive about whether and how we offer the vaccine to children”.
But he added: “We have a couple of months before we need to make and operationalise a decision.”
Editor-in-Chief | Carl D. Pearson has been involved in British politics and media from an early age, with the key knowledge of what it takes to run a news organisation for the 21st century. Mr Pearson, as Editor-in-chief, is responsible for supervising the daily tasks of publishing media and content to UNN’s website and various platforms.
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