COVID-19 has a substantial mortality, particularly among the elderly. Vaccination substantially reduces this mortality for adults. Vaccines’ side effects include rare events such as thrombotic events and myocarditis. As children and young people are at a substantially lower risk of mortality/severe disease from COVID-19, the risk-benefit ratio for vaccination is less advantageous in this age group. On 4 August 2021, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation advised that all teenagers 16-17 years old in the UK should be offered the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Subsequently, on purely medical grounds, they did not recommend vaccinating children 12-16 years old routinely.1 After consultation on the wider benefits of maintaining schooling and aiding children’s mental health, the U.K.’s Chief Medical Officers have recommended (13 September 2021) that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine be offered to children aged 12-15. The RCPCH has cautiously endorsed this development as part of a wider package to maintain children’s schooling and health.2 Currently, the UK has four licensed COVID-19 vaccines (Oxford/ AstraZeneca, Johnson Johnson, Pfizer/ BioNTech and Moderna).3 All have potential side effects. Thus, it is important that teenagers and their families are well informed about the balance between the benefits and genuine side effects of vaccination, while avoiding misinformation. Other than healthcare professionals and families/friends, the internet is the major source of such information.
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