Vaccine watchdogs in the UK are under pressure to approve the release of spikes for children up to the age of 12, as doctors say Christmas could save thousands of lives.
They say vaccinating young people aged 12 to 15 is urgent, as it would reduce the number of deaths and hospitalizations for covides by one-fifth and protect the young people themselves.
The dramatic discoveries, seen by The Mail on Sunday, come from a new study by the University of Exeter’s School of Medicine, which will be published this week.
Follow Health Secretary Sajid Javid’s instructions to the NHS last week to begin preparing to hit 12- to 15-year-olds amid children returning to school to unleash a new wave of Covid.
A new study from the University of Exeter, to be published this week, states that vaccination of young people aged 12 to 15 is urgent, as it would reduce the number of deaths and hospitalizations for covides by one-fifth (stock image)
But it also comes amid anger that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Vaccination (JCVI) has not yet given its approval to the shootings.
This is despite the fact that other countries, including France and the United States, have been vacating children up to 12 years old for weeks.
Even Australia, which has drastically lower Covid rates than the UK, has now approved vaccines between the ages of 12 and 15, with its vaccination committee saying the benefits “far outweigh the potential risks”.
Conservative MP and former cabinet minister David Jones said last night: “It is welcome that preparations are now well under way to hit young people aged 12 to 15, but there is a danger of losing the ship as the children will soon be back in school.
Another Conservative MP said in private that he was “lost because the JCVI takes so long” to give his approval.
However, others insist that schoolchildren should only be punctured to protect their own health, not to save the older generations at risk from Covid.
Sources said the JCVI is expected to make a decision within ten days.
But the study from the University of Exeter made it clear that there is no time to lose.
Dr. David Strain, a senior clinical professor at the university’s medical school and a consultant at an operating hospital, said the Delta variant had “changed the rules of engagement.”
He said: “This new variant produces 1,000 times more copies of itself, which means 12-, 13- and 14-year-olds who previously couldn’t generate enough copies of the virus to infect their parents can now do so.” .
Follow the instructions (pictured) of Health Secretary Sajid Javid in the NHS last week to begin preparing to bite 12- to 15-year-olds amid fears that children returning to school could trigger a new one onada Covid
And while previous strains rarely made young people very ill, Delta caused them to fall more severely.
A quarter of Covid patients in the respiratory support unit at Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital this summer are under 25, he said.
He and his team predict that every 12-15 years will reduce Covid-related deaths by 18% and hospitalizations by 21%, compared to the current strategy: vaccinate only young people with health conditions plus those who they live with -risk others.
In a conservative scenario, biting 12- to 15-year-olds could prevent 28,000 hospitalizations in all age groups and save 2,250 lives.
But if there is a bigger fall wave, vaccinating younger teens could stop 77,000 hospitalizations and save 6,500 lives.
Dr. Strain said Covid was now full of young people, acting as super-broadcasters. If not vaccinated, it would increase the risk of another blockage.
It is believed that the main reason JCVI is hesitant is the concern that Pfizer and Moderna blows given to young people could trigger a heart condition called myocarditis. But Dr. Strain said the risk was very low: four per million in young people aged 20 to 25. Even if the risk in under-18s was doubled, “it would only translate into 37 British cases if we vaccinated all teenagers.”
There were two deaths from vaccine-induced myocarditis worldwide, he said. But at least four percent of young people sick with the virus suffered from Covid for a long time.
A source said the JCVI was considering all available evidence.