Ministers May Ignore The JCVI And Push For Covid Vaccinations For All 12- To 15-Year-Olds

Ministers could ignore their official vaccine consultants for the first time and push for Covid vaccinations for all 12- to 15-year-olds, after a scientific body ruled that the net health benefit of vaccination was too tiny.

Ministers will seek additional data that could help them overturn the watchdog's decision, highlighting a deepening divergence between the government and scientific experts over the next phase of the vaccine campaign.

After days of speculation, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) released a statement on Friday saying that while the health benefits of vaccinating the entire age group outweighed the risks, "the margin of benefit is considered too small to support universal vaccination of healthy 12- to 15-year-olds,"

At this time, the evidence is insufficient to justify universal immunization of healthy 12- to 15-year-olds."

On Friday, a line of young people formed in London to get vaccinated.

Instead, the group advised expanding an existing immunization program for older children with health issues like as heart disease, type 1 diabetes, and severe asthma, bringing the total number of youngsters eligible to almost 200,000.

The government was dealt a blow by the decision, which had been quietly agitating for a decision from the JCVI in recent days, given that most schools in England had returned this week, and pointing to existing mass vaccination programs for such children in places like Israel, the United States, and Germany.

However, because its scope does not include wider issues such as school disruption, the JCVI suggested that ministers seek additional guidance on this, an unprecedented suggestion by the organization.

"The JCVI isn't saying no," a government source said. "They say there's a marginal gain, but they make it obvious that they're looking at it from a very restricted perspective."

Sajid Javid, the health secretary, and his colleagues in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland wrote to their respective chief medical officers shortly after the JCVI announcement, urging them to "examine the subject from a broader perspective."