Comment: If they 'cross the Rubicon' and make vaccinations mandatory, they will be the first UK govt to do so since the 1800s smallpox vaccine laws (which led to widespread rebellion when those jabs caused deadly outbreaks of smallpox)...


johnson hancock
Begging for a revolution, they are
Children will start getting the Covid vaccine as early as August under provisional government plans to push for maximum immunity from the virus, The Telegraph can reveal.

Two sources involved in preparations said that was the soonest point at which Britons under the age of 18 would be given the jabs - months earlier than expected.

Safety data on the critical child vaccine study being run by Oxford University - on which ministers are waiting before making their final decisions - is expected shortly, with its conclusions due in June or July.


Comment: There's a lack of safety data because the UK population, particularly its most vulnerable, are acting as test subjects, and, in preparation for August, vaccine experiments on children are in the works: UK children to be test subjects of latest AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine trials


Israel, the country with the highest proportion of vaccinated citizens, is already giving jabs to 16 and 17-year-olds after deeming it safe.


Comment: And in turn Israel has seen a surge in deaths of young people: Pfizer vaccine in Israel: Mortality rate 'hundreds of times greater in vaccinated young people'


Supporters of the plan see the mass vaccination of children as a way to minimise the spread of infection, but critics note the relatively low risk Covid poses to youngsters and the still-emerging safety data.


Comment: As well as the fact that, according to manufacturers, the vaccine doesn't stop you from catching nor transmitting the virus.


If the current rate of roughly three million first doses a week is handed out in August, it is possible that most of the 11 million school-age children could be vaccinated before the autumn term.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said "no decisions have been made on whether children should be offered vaccinations".


Comment: Note that it is widely accepted that children do not need the vaccine because, in the vast majority of cases, were they to catch Covid-19, they will recover, and with immunity from any variants. So allowing natural immunity is both safer and more effective.


The plans are a reflection of the Government's growing acceptance that Covid will not disappear from Britain, with ministers instead deciding to focus their strategy on driving down cases.

After discussions about the issue with scientists over many months, Boris Johnson said on Tuesday: "I'm not sure that eradication makes sense in a globalised economy for one country alone."

Speaking at a press conference to mark one year since the first Covid lockdown, the Prime Minister said a permanent memorial would be constructed to those who have died from the virus.

He warned the public against booking overseas summer holidays, saying it was "too early to say" whether border rules could be eased given the third wave of virus cases in Europe.


Comment: Those that took the experimental vaccines on the assurrance that it would give them more freedom have, thus far, been fooled.


Amid the drive for a high rate of vaccinations, The Telegraph revealed on Monday how Mr Johnson and Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, had agreed to change the law to require care workers to have Covid jabs.

It can now be disclosed that NHS frontline workers, including nurses and doctors on wards and staff in community mental health support schemes, could be next.


Comment: Mental health staff? It was only a few months ago that Denmark saw some of its biggest protests against a similarly insidious bill: Denmark tries to push through permanent 'epidemic law' that includes forced vaccination


They are among groups picked out by government officials for consideration for mandatory vaccinations, although agreement on including them - unlike on care home staff - has not yet been reached.

Trade unions and care groups criticised the plans on Tuesday, with the GMB union saying care workers should not be "strong-armed or bullied with threats of the law". However, Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, said that although he had "reservations" he could "see powerful arguments on both sides".

Despite recent dips in vaccine supply affecting the coming weeks, the Government has exceeded its own early estimates for how quickly it is rolling out Covid vaccines. With all adults due to receive their first jab by the end of July, thinking inside Whitehall is now turning to the approach that should be taken to vaccinating children.


Comment: By July all adults will have been offered their first jab, that doesn't mean all will have all accepted the offer. Also note how the agenda quickly changed - and not based on any science - from vaccinating the vulnerable to vaccinating everybody, including making vaccination mandatory for anyone wishing to work in the health services. Note also how this coincides with the governments scheme to eventually enforce vaccine passports.


One source involved in the planning said "it could begin by late summer", specifically August. A government source familiar with the thinking said August was the "earliest" start.

Only children at very high risk of severe Covid can currently get a jab. Final decisions on whether to vaccinate children will be made once the results of the Oxford trial, testing the AstraZeneca vaccine on 300 children aged six to 17, are released.


Comment: They're quite open about the fact that this is an massive experiment, that is now targeting children: COVID Mass Vaccination Experiment: Prepare For The Worst With This Health Protocol


Exemptions are expected if a rollout to children is given the final sign-off. It is also likely that parents would have to give consent - currently the position for teenagers in Israel.

Prof Adam Finn, a professor of paediatrics at the Bristol Children's Vaccine Centre and member of the Government's joint committee on vaccination and immunisation, said preparations were being made which could allow the rollout of vaccines for children.

He said: "Children constitute close to quarter of the population, so even if we could achieve 100 per cent uptake of vaccines across the adult population, it only gets you to 75 per cent coverage."

The Department of Health spokesman said: "While clinical trials are under way to test the efficacy and safety of Covid-19 vaccines in children and young adults, these trials have not concluded yet. We will be guided by the advice of our experts on these issues, including the independent joint committee on vaccines and immunisation."