now children aged between 6 and 17 have
started taking part in trials for the
oxford astrazeneca vaccine
some 300 children are taking part in the
entire study
to find out if the vaccine is safe and
effective for young people
currently it's only authorized for those
over 18. from oxford our medical editor
fergus walsh sent this report
this is a half term with a difference an
unusual break
from homeschooling and so do we know
that after
people have their vaccination and
sometimes they can get some rep
tilde is 16 and didn't hesitate about
signing up for the vaccine trial well we
live relatively nearby so when i
saw that it was going on here i thought
you know if i can do my bit to help then
why not and no problem with the the
needles or
the protests i'm all right with needles
yeah i don't really mind
the study will test how children and
teenagers respond to a vaccine
currently being used to protect people
their grandparents age
they'll get two doses of the oxford jab
or a meningitis vaccine as a control for
comparison
like the other volunteers ella who's 14
wants to do her bid to further the
research and hopefully help
and make sure that us kids and can be
safe
and get the vaccines rolled out it made
for some very proud parents
i think she's amazing i saw the call for
children volunteers and i went and spoke
to her
explained what the vaccine was about
and she volunteered without a hesitation
children are highly unlikely to be
seriously affected by covid
although a small minority are at
increased risk
they generally get few or no symptoms at
all
immunizing them might help reduce the
spread of coronavirus
well it may be rather similar to the the
flu situation where with the influenza
program we vaccinate children both
protect them
but also because that reduces
transmission in the wider population
to ensure that all of us are protected
against the virus
all three covid vaccines approved in the
uk are being tested in children
pfizer and moderna are doing their
studies
in the u.s if the trials go well it's
highly likely
that all school-aged children will
eventually be offered kovid jabs
trials in even younger children below
school age could follow
but are some way off the results of this
study
should be known by the summer by which
time all these volunteers
parents and older relatives should
themselves
have been offered a coveted jab fergus
walsh bbc news
oxford