Parental consent will be sought says Health Secretary

Parental consent will be sought for children under the age of 15 who will get their Covid-19 vaccinations in school, the Health Secretary has pledged.

Writing in the The Sunday Times, Health Secretary Sajid Javid has pledged that parental consent will be sought for Covid-19 vaccinations administered to children aged 15 or younger.

“As a parent myself, I know that people who wouldn’t think twice about getting the jab for themselves will naturally have more questions when it comes to vaccinating their kids. There is no greater priority for a parent than the safety of their child and, you can rest assured: there is no greater priority for me and for the government. We have seen on a daily basis just how safe and just how effective our vaccines are, as we’ve given first doses to over 88 per cent of 16 and overs, and the medicines regulator has approved the use of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines for children aged 12 and above.

“In any vaccination programme aimed at a young age group like this, parents and guardians will have a critical role to play – offering the kind of counsel you can only get from a parent or guardian. And if 12 to 15 year olds are offered the vaccine, parental or carer consent will be sought, just as we do with other school immunisation programmes.

“Jabs at school are fortunately nothing new, and I, like so many others, remember well getting my tetanus, diphtheria and polio jabs at school – which is now a three in one jab – in a packed school hall. Our health service is steeped in experience of vaccination programmes at schools, with a proud tradition that long pre-dates the pandemic. Health leaders are already scoping out what a potential school programme of vaccinations of Covid-19 could look like, when combined with locations like local vaccination sites,” the Health Secretary  added.

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