School children could be in line for coronavirus vaccine as soon as August
According to reports in The Daily Telegraph, ministers are waiting for the results from clinical trials before making a decision
Last updated 24th Mar 2021
School children could be given coronavirus vaccines this summer, according to reports in The Daily Telegraph.
Researchers began testing the AstraZeneca jab on volunteers aged between six and 17 last month.
The paper claims ministers are waiting for results from those trials before making any final decisions, but the rollout could begin from August.
Speaking to Sky News back in February, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said there could be a 'value' in giving the jabs to children.
"There are two points here; one is that it absolutely must be safe, specifically for children, so that is being currently investigated.
"And the second is - because children very, very rarely get symptoms and serious illness from the disease - the value, the importance of vaccinating children is to try to stop the spread of the disease and obviously that's something - the impact of the vaccine on stopping transmission is something - that we have early evidence of.
"It looks like the first jab reduces your impact of transmitting the disease by about two-thirds - but we need more evidence on that as well".
Health Secretary, Matt Hancock
The Telegraph also claims the Government is looking for ways to maximise immunity from Covid-19, after England's Chief Medical Officer warned the chance of eliminating the virus altogether is 'close to zero'.
Speaking on the anniversary of the start of the first lockdown, the Prime Minister said we are on a path to getting our freedoms back - "jab by jab".
"For month after month, our collective fight against coronavirus was like fighting in the dark against a callous and invisible enemy until science helped us to turn the lights on and to gain the upper hand".
Prime Minister, Boris Johnson
Chief Scientific Officer Sir Patrick Vallance warned that antibodies will need to be topped up.
"I don't think there's any indication yet that vaccine effects are waiving. That said, there will be a need to think about booster jabs for vaccines in the Autumn, I suspect, particularly thinking about getting high level of immunity to cover things over the winter".
Chief Scientific Officer, Sir Patrick Vallance