The
coronavirus cases have begun to rise in England yet again and this time the
spread of the virus among children is a big cause of concern. Nearly 8%
secondary school children are infected which is the highest level since January.

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Several children
and teachers had missed out on school due to contracting the coronavirus, which
had significantly delayed the vaccine rollout for the age group.

Just last
month Britain’s chief medical officers suggested to offer vaccination against
the virus for children belonging to the age group of 12 – 15 years old since it
would make going outside and attending school comparatively safer.

The health
service had targeted to vaccinate all children before the beginning of the
half-term break in school. While the break
commences next week, just 28.8% children between 12 – 17 years of age have received
a vaccination shot.

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Vaccination for
children aged 12 – 15 years was delayed considerably after the Joint
Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) declined recommending broad
vaccination for children over 12. They cited that the health benefit was
marginal and it is still unclear whether the vaccine provides protection
against the Delta variant or not.

On the other hand, Scotland seems to be doing
considerably better than England with 46.5% of 12- 15-year-olds having been
vaccinated. The considerable difference is that over there the government has
set up walk in vaccination facilities for children.

Whereas in England, they have to heavily rely on
schools to access their shots. This is why the vaccine is not available to all
children at the same time.

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In order to overcome this, the government Is
considering setting up walk in clinics in England, as reported by the Mail on
Sunday. Apparently, this would be happening within a few weeks.

While it is understood that not all children wish
to get vaccinated, the problem is that even those who wish to take the shots
are unable to access them.