He added: 'Limited vaccine supplies would be far better used in countries and regions with large vulnerable elderly populations who presently remain unvaccinated - Australia, much of South East Asia and Latin America, as well as Africa.' Given this, I can see no good reason to prioritise vaccinating them.' 'We don't know if vaccine-induced immunity will prove longer lasting, and the better contributor to herd immunity. 'Sixteen to 17-year-olds are at low risk of serious disease and, through exposure, are developing immunity anyway', he said. Health chiefs are set to recommend all 16 and 17 year olds get jabs today, marking a dramatic U-turn - given just two weeks ago the same expert panel advised against doing so.īoris Johnson is expected to accept the guidance immediately, paving the way for the roll-out to begin later this month. Jabs could be administered in schools.īut Professor David Livermore, a microbiologist at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline he could see 'no good reason' to prioritise vaccinating older teenagers. Experts have today called into question No10's 'pretty pointless' plans to vaccinate more than 1.5million 16 and 17-year-olds, saying most are already immune to the virus through previous infections.
