Secret plans are reportedly being drawn up which will see Covid jabs being rolled out to children as young as five in the coming months.
Leaked proposals suggest health bosses are preparing to jab children aged between five and 11 next spring.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has said ‘expected standards of safety, quality and effectiveness’ must be met before vaccines would be authorised for children in this age category.
It is feared that Covid will continue to pose a threat until 2024, meaning health officials are considering new ways to protect Brits.
Speaking earlier this week, England’s chief medical officer Christ Whitty said that vaccinating any children as young as five in the UK was a long way off.
Professor Whitty pointed out that the UK’s medicines watchdog hasn’t even examined data on the jabs for under-11s.
And a decision on rolling out the vaccine to younger cohorts would depend on the evidence presented to the UK’s top scientists, he said at a press conference.
Secret plans are reportedly being drawn up which will see Covid jabs being rolled out to children as young as five in the coming months (stock image)
But leaked proposals suggest that the NHS are preparing a scheme to offer immunisations to children aged between five and 11 in the Spring, in the event that regulator approval is granted, according to The Sun.
A senior source told the publication: ‘Top secret plans reveal what is at stake if we are to achieve a meaningful victory over Covid. Asking parents for permission to jab kids as young as five is in the schedule.
‘It is controversial, but will help us reach our goal.’
The source added that the plans are still open to change, but that many scientists support the idea of jabbing young children.
Commenting on the plans, an NHS spokesperson said: ‘The NHS regularly plans for how it would operationalise opening vaccines to more people so it is ready to extend the jab quickly when and if any decision is recommended by the JCVI.’
Before any rollout can be announced for children of this age, the vaccines would need to be approved for use on this age group by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Speaking earlier this week, England’s chief medical officer Christ Whitty (pictured) said that vaccinating any children as young as five in the UK is a long way off
Additionally, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) also needs to approve the rollout.
At present, vaccines are not being offered to any child younger than the age of 12.
While US health officials gave the final sign-off to the Pfizer vaccine for use in five to 11-year-olds at the beginning of November, with doses to be administered at a third of the amount given to teenagers and adults.
And earlier this week, the JCVI recommended that children should wait at least 12 weeks after catching Covid to get their jab.
The body said there is evidence the longer gap reduces the risk of myocarditis, a type of heart inflammation reported in a small number of children after vaccination.
Today’s change to the guidance only applies to healthy children aged 12 to 17, who previously only had to wait a month after infection to get jabbed.
The four-week gap remains the advice for adults over the age of 18 and children extremely vulnerable to Covid.
Twelve to 15-year-olds are still being offered just one dose of Pfizer’s vaccine while officials monitor myocarditis rates in other countries.
But as of this week, 16 and 17-year-olds can now come forward for the second jab after the UK’s regulator decided the benefit of the jabs ‘clearly’ outweighed the risk.
Speaking about the leaked plans, a Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘COVID-19 vaccines have not been approved by our independent medicines regulator, the MHRA, for under-12s so are not used in the UK.’
And Professor Chris Whitty called for calm this week over suggestions that the Covid jabs could soon be offered to under-11s.
He said: ‘We haven’t yet even got a licence with MHRA [Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency] so let’s not rush our fences on this.
‘It will depend entirely on the data that are presented to the independent regulator and the independent scientific advisory committee.’
Before any rollout can be announced for children of this age (stock image), the vaccines would need to be approved for use on this age group by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
The MHRA has not yet made a decision on whether to offer younger groups the vaccine, because it has not yet examined data from the US, which is already administering the Covid vaccine to five to 11-year-olds.
The agency examines all clinical trial and safety data from Covid vaccine makers that apply for a license in the UK before making a decision on whether the jab is safe and effective for a certain age group.
The JCVI then advises No10 on whether that cohort should be given the injections as part of the vaccine rollout after weighing up the benefits and risks.
The group advised ministers against jabbing 12 to 15-year-olds because children face such a tiny threat from Covid.
It also warned about the risk from a rare vaccine side effect called myocarditis, which can cause heart damage.
Critics say children are better off catching the virus and getting protection naturally because the risk of being admitted to ICU is about one in 500,000.
At present, vaccines are not being offered to any child younger than the age of 12. Pictured: File image of a 14-year-old receiving his jab on August 14, 2021
But the JCVI panel — who only looked at a rigid set of criteria — recommended the UK’s chief medical officers were given the final say.
Professor Chris Whitty and colleagues ultimately decided to recommend jabs to 12-15 year olds because modelling showed it would prevent thousands from having to take time off school.
Professor Jeremy Brown, a member of the JCVI, said earlier this month that it is ‘far too early’ to say whether it will recommend vaccinating children aged under-12.
But he said there is ‘a case for using a vaccine on those children that have underlying diseases that make them more vulnerable’ to the virus.
And Professor Jonathan Van-Tam Professor, England’s deputy chief medical officer, said the JCVI ‘will be considering’ whether to follow the US in expanding the rollout to over-fives. But the decision is ‘some way down the tracks’, he added.
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