Covid vaccine - only half the population and not for under 18s (FT article)

[snowballer]

Don't know if this has already been mentioned elsewhere but thought it was worth posting. I've read quite a few posts where people have been musing about whether or not they would vaccinate their children. The article says adults only, and of those adults only those over 50 plus healthcare workers and those who are vulnerable.

It's not clear whether it would be available privately to those outside these groups or whether the vaccine is not formulated for children (I'm no scientist so don't know if this is even a thing!)

Pic of article below - fingers crossed it posts.

@Keepdistance

I think it's pretty disgusting tbh the implications have been there were enough doses for the population. I would care less if you could buy it. It will slow it down a lot but i would think the youngest have the most contacts and it's not like parents can even choose to hide away without deregistering possibly for years.

Exactly. Why is she all of a sudden saying this, when it has never even been hinted at previously? And she has put it in a way that implies the public have somehow just managed to get the wrong end of the stick from the information given, which is not the case at all. Whatever the truth of the matter, I find her style of communication very lacking.

There's no working vaccine yet. Surely they can't be sure about how much manufacturing capacity there is until that's settled? I know we already make plenty of vaccines, but I assume it's not always exactly the same process, and we don't yet know just what the variables are.

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000ljnb

Yes its also the long term effects.

Seems to make sense to me. The risk of death from Covid in the under 50 age group is extremely small. Less than 0.1% according to stats produced in Aug.

Matt Hancock was asked about this in Parliament yesterday and said that her task force isn't in charge of vaccine distribution, and that this would be decided based on JCVI advice, which is more reassuring. Whole thing still a bit odd, though.

@HRH18

Seems to make sense to me. The risk of death from Covid in the under 50 age group is extremely small. Less than 0.1% according to stats produced in Aug.

According to SAGE and data from around the world it's 45, not 50.

Oh - and the stats you speak of (if you're correct) are based on when we have restrictions in place. Without lockdowns or other restrictive measures the deaths would be higher. Plenty of 30, and particularly 40 somethings, have needed to be hospitalised.

In any event it's not just about death. We have Long Covid to think about.

Absolutely it makes sense to prioritise the order of vaccination. That's a whole different kettle of fish from not having any access at all.

The reason it increases at 40 could be the vit d of skin gets harder as you get older

Does anyone remember this: Dozens of NHS workers were fighting for compensation after developing narcolepsy from a swine flu vaccine that was rushed into service without the usual testing when the disease spread across the globe in 2009. They say it has destroyed their careers and their health.This was the case for a lot of young children too. They have had their lives destroyed. Who knows what it's going to be this time round