Thread by @drsimonwilliams

🚨New @ons analysis shows that in 2021 the more children vaccinated in a school the lower the #covid rate!

➡️New covid infections were 40% LOWER in schools where >60% pupils had 1st jab compared to schools where <20% had 1st jab.

Vaccines for children are safe and effective.

May be of interest to many (including @SGriffin_Lab @dgurdasani1 @chrischirp @SusanMichie @chris_salt @Parents_Utd @LongCovidKids ). Data and analysis here:

ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulati…

(Also, outside U.K. - @GYamey @TRyanGregory who have argued in favour of the effectiveness of vaccines for under 18s )

Caveats apply:

For example, analysis of Spring 2022 data did not find a significant effect of vaccines on rates in schools.

BUT oNS acknowledge that :
- number of schools is low in this term.
-test and trace data to be treated with caution after twice-weekly testing dropped

5/ absolutely as @SGriffin_Lab notes via the excellent communications of @Zubhaque @Dr_D_Robertson @chrischirp & @IndependentSage colleagues

ONS also shows woeful inequalities in vaccine uptake - this gap will unlikely be closed as things stand

6/ for example, 12-15 year olds living in the most deprived areas were Only HALF as likely to have had one jab compared to those least deprived areas 👇

7/ also: black Caribbean children are more than 4 times less likely to have had 1 jab, and more than 5 times less likely to have had 2 jabs compared to white British children

8/ also pupils living in a household with an adult aged 75 or over were only slightly more likely to have had a vaccine

( priority for public health communication is to encourage as many household members of a vulnerable family member to have a vaccine )

(Caveats noted here 👇)

Also May be of interest to @devisridhar who has been a big proponent of sage effective vaccines for children:

scottishdailyexpress.co.uk/news/scottish-…

9/ other research is emerging which also suggests benefits of vaccines in all age groups.

(I) recent study from US shows that hospitalisations related to covid-19 were TWICE as high in unvaccinated compared to vaccinated children aged 5-11👇

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35446827/

10/ another study published last month in leading medical journal @NEJM found

For fully vaccinated children (5-11):

👉all covid cases=36% ⬇️
👉PCR confirmed cases=65% ⬇️
👉hospitalisations=83%⬇️

Compared to unvaccinated

11/ these data are from Singapore - one of the most vaccinated countries 👇

Nearly 8 out of 10 children 5-11 have received their primary vaccine course dose

All other age groups - including 12-19 y’o’s are basically near 100%

12/ Singapore has also a good overall pandemic track record (eg here for total covid related deaths compared to U.K.,usa, global average

13/ also

From a massive sample - In Singapore, 22 serious adverse events after vaccination (0.005% of all doses administered)

Good vaccine safety data

14/ @WHO gice a detailed and nuanced discussion on vax in children here

TDLR: benefits outweigh costs for vaccinating across all eligible ages

who.int/news/item/11-0…