Dr Hilary Jones urged parents to get their children vaccinated once jabs are made available in the spring, during an appearance on Lorraine on Thursday.
The ITV doctor shared the benefits of vaccinating children aged five to 11, compared to the “small risks” as Covid-19 is “ripping through” schools.
This comes after the government announced all children aged five to 11 in the UK will be offered a low dose of the vaccine.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the NHS in England will “prepare to extend this non-urgent offer to all children during April”.
Appearing on the ITV morning show opposite Christine Lampard, who has stepped in for Lorraine Kelly, Dr Hilary noted that many children are losing out on schooling because they are having to self-isolate with the virus.
He said: “Their risks are quite small in that age group, however primary school kids at the moment are the age group that have the highest number of cases of Covid.
“It’s ripping through schools at the moment. Many children are losing a lot of time in school as a result. If we vaccinate children they will be having their education and not be bringing the infection back home.”
Older children have a very rare risk of heart problem myocarditis, which is why the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has delayed making a decision on the rollout to younger children.
Dr Hilary acknowledged the parental anxiety around possible side-effects from the jab, but noted that eight million doses of the jab have been delivered in the US with “no real problems at all”.
He added: “It’s considered to be extremely safe and effective. That’s the major thing.
“The side-effects that people are worried about - particularly myocarditis, which is a mild inflammation of the heart and occurs in about two children of every million who are vaccinated, so it’s very, very rare, it’s also short-lived and temporary.
“You’re much more likely to get myocarditis with Covid itself or a host of other infections, so in the great scheme of things the risks are tiny.”
While Dr Hilary said the rollout to youngsters is not considered to be “urgent”, the GP said he would vaccinate his children with the jab if they were this age.
He continued: “It will be two doses given 12 weeks apart using the Pfizer vaccine. The common side-effects will be a slightly sore arm or a flu-like illness.
“For me it makes sense. If it was my child aged five to 11, I wouldn’t hesitate.
“I do understand parental anxiety - if you’re giving a vaccine to someone who’s healthy you think twice about it, because they’re already healthy but they won’t be healthy if they get Covid and there are other benefits as well.
“So it is something that needs to be explained and thought about, but won’t be mandatory.”
Lorraine airs weekdays at 9am on ITV
