Just seven percent of children aged five to 11 in England have received a Covid vaccine in the six weeks since they were made available to the younger age group. The Guardian reports that take-up has been low as parents hesitate over whether to get their children vaccinated.
A significantly higher 24% of 12 to 15-year-olds received a first dose within six weeks of becoming eligible in September 2021. Scientists believe a combination of questions about the benefits of vaccinating children against Covid when most experience mild symptoms and concerns over rare side effects have led to parents' hesitancy.
However, they have warned that the perception of Covid being relatively harmless to young children fails to take into account the number of youngsters ending up with long Covid. Professor Russell Viner of University College London, who was part of the now-disbanded Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, told the Guardian that parents should be reassured by the near absence of side-effects after widespread take-up in the US, which approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine last November.
