JCVI Says Covid-19 Vaccines For 12-15 Year Olds Not Recommended, But Sajid Javid Disagrees
The UK Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has confirmed it will not recommend healthy children aged 12-15 receive a Covid-19 vaccine, but health secretary Sajid Javid appears to think otherwise.
While the commitee concluded that the health benefits of 12-15 year olds receiving the vaccine did outweigh the risks, they felt the margin of benefit was too small.
"The JCVI’s view is that overall, the health benefits from COVID-19 vaccination to healthy children aged 12 to 15 years are marginally greater than the potential harms," Professor Wei Shen Lim, Chair of COVID-19 Immunisation for the JCVI said.
"Taking a precautionary approach, this margin of benefit is considered too small to support universal COVID-19 vaccination for this age group at this time. The committee will continue to review safety data as they emerge.”
Following the announcement health secretary Sajid Javid said he had written to the Chief Medical Officers for all four nations asking them for further advice and to consider the risks "from a broader perspective" than the JCVI had advised.
How is Sajid Javid qualified to overrule the scientists of the JCVI?