Kate Elliott and Emily James assess the legal and ethical issues of issuing the covid-19 vaccination to children.
On 13 September 2021, chief medical officer for England, Professor Chris Whitty, confirmed 12 to 15-year-old children, who do not have underlying health conditions, would be offered a single dose of the covid-19 Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination. This decision came despite the joint committee on vaccination and immunisation (JCVI) deciding not to recommend mass vaccinations to this age groued.
Vaccinating children can be polarising among families, within relationships, between separated couples and between parent and child. The debate includes the educational and societal benefits of vaccinating this age group, such as the need for schools to remain open and to protect more vulnerable members of society.
Evidence indicates the heal...
“There is a vast body of science supporting arguments that childhood immunisations, in most cases, are indeed in a child’s best interests.”
