Parents urged to encourage jabs for their teenagers

A MINISTER today “strongly encouraged” parents to get their teenage children jabbed ahead of a major decision to extend the vaccination programme to all 16 and 17-year-olds.

Covid jabs looked set to be rolled out to more than a million extra teenagers with the Government expected to approve scientific advice for the extension today.

Universities Minister Michelle Donelan declined to pre-empt the decision. But asked if parents should encourage their teens to get the jab, she told Times Radio: “Well, first of all, we need to make an announcement that 16 and 17-year-olds are eligible to go and get a vaccine… and then we need to consider things like parental consent if that’s needed.

“Obviously if the JCVI (Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation) did announce that 16- and 17-year-olds could go and get the vaccine and we’re going to roll it out, I would strongly encourage parents to encourage their children to do so because we know that the vaccine is the route out of this.”

Teens are expected to receive the Pfizer vaccine, approved for use in the UK for people aged 12 and over.

Ms Donelan also suggested that cash incentives were “on the table” to persuade young people to get the coronavirus vaccine.

It comes as experts said extending innoculating teenagers could reduce transmission of the virus and limit disruption to schooling.

The latest data showed younger people had driven a recent surge in infections in England.

Professor Steven Riley of Imperial College London, co-author of the latest React study, said jabs for 16 to 17s would have “a really good knock-on effect” as there has been a “lot of transmission”among secondary school-aged children.

Under current guidance some under-18s are eligible for a jab if they have certain health conditions or live with someone vulnerable or are nearly 18.

The latest NHS data shows 223,755 under-18s in England have already had a first dose.