Take up of vaccine in 12-15 yo is as low as 10%

[Mellowfruitfulnessy]

Guardian story on the low take-up of vaccines in teens.

I had wondered if this issue would arise. All the (normally intelligent) teens I know are really anti-vax. Strong belief it renders you infertile. I guess a lot of this must be social media influencing.

Hardly anyone showed up for the vax clinic at dc school. In the end they made all the teens talk to the nurse but the take up was almost zero. This must be happening elsewhere too. Any other experiences? It’s really worrying and I don’t know how it will be addressed. I also wonder how it will impact families wanting to travel abroad next year.

Why the fertility concerns? Has any vaccine ever been associated with a negative impact on fertility?

Opposite here - DC's school have had 2 vaccination days, not got through everyone who wanted the vaccine and can't say when they will come back.

A few of my friends have children 12-15. None of them want their kids to have the vaccine although they are vaccinated themselves.

My children are older and they had Covid and don't plan to have the vaccine. It has been proven that the natural immunity is much better than vaccine immunity.

There are still plenty of countries that don't require vaccines for visitors like Spain, Croatia, UAE.

Lots of schools near me haven't got a date yet - so the kids haven't had the chance to have it.

DSs school had an early date but chose that point to use a new (weird) email address to communicate this to parents with the completely foreseeable result that it went into junk folders and most of us didn't see it in time to do the consent form. But we've now been sent details of a walk in clinic so I assume those who wanted it will use that.

My 20yr old DD and my 16yr old DD2 had it as soon as it was open to them and I'm glad they did.
BUT i considered myself exceptionally lucky that they were old enough to make their own informed decision.
I might well have not had them had the vaccine if it were down to me because the weight of burden would have been on me and as a parent that's quite onerous.
The evidence isn't out yet as to the long term effects regardless of how much people scream 'anti-Vaxers' as an insult.
So it doesn't surprise me.
Particularly when we are asking our children to have a new vaccine for the aim of protecting others.
I think it's far more complex than snarking at kids or their parents for choosing, at the moment, not to have it.

Maybe they have read the JCVI report?

(Although I see here from pp that they shouldn’t be listened to! Is there any limit to this pro vaccine narrative push?)

Kids don’t need vaccinating. We all know this when we are being rational.

If you’ve had the vaccine, quit worrying about what everyone else does.

Am in Scotland and vaccine not done in school here. Appointment sent through the post instead. Had to cancel as it was within 28 days of a positive test and there are no other appointments available. We need to go to a drop in clinic instead. None locally so will have to travel and are only Tuesday-Thursday until 6pm. Not ideal when I'm working so can't get him there.

Not sure when he will get it.

My ds is 12.

We’ve not actually been offered the chance for a jab until November. How much of it is because they physically can’t get a jab either because there are no clinics or they’ve just got covid so can’t yet?

They haven't finished rolling it out here yet - still have DD2 to do next week.

Covid: How many people have been vaccinated in Wales?

The overall figure for vaccinations in Wales of 12 to 15-year-olds had risen to 22.9% by Tuesday night.

But there's wide varraition 48% in Merthyr Tydfil to 7.4% Neath Port Talbot.

The program run through 16-17 - so just catch up with 16-17 year olds.
Across Wales, 73.5% of 16 and 17-year-olds had been vaccinated by Tuesday night.

www.heraldscotland.com/politics/19654595.covid-scotland-vaccination-rates-12-15-year-olds-part-scotland/

Scotlands been fast - but they have varriations as well -

Perth and Kinross also has a high level of take-up (62.6%) while Orkney is close behind on 61.8%

...

Meanwhile the Scottish area lagging behind is the Highlands, where just 17% of 12-15-year-olds have taken the opportunity to get the vaccine.

Plus I think your not supposed to have it so long after a confirmed covid infection - and 12-15 have been running some of highest infection rates.

So as well as pocket of anti vaccs stuff - there's the distrubition of vacine varriation and added complication of working round covid infections.

Forgotten to say DH and I were fully vaccinated as soon as we were able.
As for travel, DDs and I have been travelling since last summer before the vaccine rollout so it doesn't preclude international travel at all (family reasons not for holibobs)

I'm part of my dd's school's facebook group. There are a lot of hesitant parents. I would say about 30% in favour of vaccinating.

Well they couldn't get round everyone that wanted it at my school so they're having to come back again. Plus so many of them have caught covid since being back at school they're having to wait 28 days before having the jab.

As Grapesoda7 said, they are not even due at my daughters school for another month.

It's a crappy headline - they can only "take up" the vaccine once they're offered it. In a lot of schools that hasn't happened yet, and in those where it has, a significant proportion won't have been able to have it as they have had Covid in the past 28 days.

Well in Scotland where they've stuck with offering it at mass vaccination centres almost 50% of 12- 15 yrs have now had vaccine.
So would suggest problem is in delivery method

Anecdotal evidence only here but we went yesterday for my young teen, it's done by postcode and all our neighbour's kids were there.

DD2/3's school isn't doing Covid vaccines until November. DD1 had a programme in early October, but she had already been called forward in August for her vaccine due to her medical status.

My dd 15 doesn’t want it, doesn’t feel it necessary. I’m happy to support her decision it’s her body after all. Plus she hasn’t started her periods yet so that was something to consider given the reported issues. We are by no means anti vax in fact she’s had all her other vaccine including this years flu one.

Lots of schools round here are not having vaccinators in till after half term. The one school I know of that had had the vaccinators 2 weeks ago ihad a lot of kids unable to have the jab because they'd had a positive covid test recently.

I'm not surprised rates are low around here!

@Mellowfruitfulnessy

Guardian story on the low take-up of vaccines in teens.

I had wondered if this issue would arise. All the (normally intelligent) teens I know are really anti-vax. Strong belief it renders you infertile. I guess a lot of this must be social media influencing.

Hardly anyone showed up for the vax clinic at dc school. In the end they made all the teens talk to the nurse but the take up was almost zero. This must be happening elsewhere too. Any other experiences? It’s really worrying and I don’t know how it will be addressed. I also wonder how it will impact families wanting to travel abroad next year.

Have you a link to the story? I am interested to know if the 10% includes those who have not been offered it yet (i.e. most of the schools in my area).

I think the stat is really misleading. None of the 8 secondary schools in our town have even started the roll out. So unless the 12-15 is clinically vulnerable (or has a family member who is) the uptake here is currently 0%. Obviously that’s not an accurate measure at all.

I imagine that take up at my DS’s school would have been low, but this would have mostly been because:

• Over half of Year 9 and a big chunk of the other years were off school either with Covid or with minor cold symptoms and waiting for PCR test results (at the request of Public Health)

• Many others were off sick with various other winter bugs that were doing the rounds

• A large number of other students, Year 11s in particular, had a positive test less in the 4 weeks before the vaccination date, so were ineligible

• There is currently no plan to offer the vaccine to those who missed it. I know, because I phoned the school immunisation team, GP and walk in centre. It does look like that could be changing now though.

We had a big group of anti vax adults turn up at our local school. Shouting at the kids that they were all guinea pigs, handing leaflets out saying the vaccines contain flesh eating viruses. Many kids in tears and they changed their minds.

Funny they didn’t target the adult vaccination centre down the road.
Just schools.

Maybe the drop in vaccination centres for 12+ are a better idea then. The school role out seems slow and uneven. And potential to be disrupted.

Half of DS class had Covid recently so they didn’t have the vaccine.

@sartorius

Well in Scotland where they've stuck with offering it at mass vaccination centres almost 50% of 12- 15 yrs have now had vaccine. So would suggest problem is in delivery method

Wales is a mix of vaccination centers and schools - here it's vaccination centers so it will be interesting to see figures after the half term break - DD2 and many of her friends are booked for then.

Roll out!