Covid-19: Should all children get a vaccine?

Vaccinating children is routine and widely accepted – measles, mumps, polio, diphtheria, rotavirus, multiple strains of meningitis, whooping cough… the list goes on. All this starts from just a few weeks old. 

So, what about Covid-19?

Some countries are cracking on – the US has already immunised around 600,000 children, aged between 12 and 15. It expects to have enough safety data to go even younger next year. 

The UK is rattling through the adults – who should all have been offered their first dose by the end of July – but has yet to come to a decision on children. 

There is a scientific question – will vaccinating children save lives? – which is complex as the answer may vary from country to country. There is also a moral and ethical dimension if doses destined for children would save more lives if they were given to health workers and vulnerable adults in other countries.