The Pfizer vaccine has been approved for 12 to 15-year-olds by UK regulators in the fight to stop the spread of Covid-19. 

A “rigorous review” has been carried out by the MHRA, determining that the vaccine is safe. However the benefits are not fully understood. 

The government is trying to determine the importance of protecting the vulnerable, while supplying asymptomatic carriers with the vaccine.  

The US and Canadian government’s began vaccinating this age group earlier this month. With the UK acting slower on making the decision, many parents seem content with this development. 

“I am thrilled that my children can now be vaccinated and hopefully this will keep me and my parents safe as well,” Katie Goldsmith, a mother-of-two from Kent said.

However, with the vaccine proving to have a minimal effect on children, with their very small rate of infection in the first place, many others may miss out on being protected. 

With nearly 40% of the population fully vaccinated, from Our World in Data, the UK is making steady progress in limiting the spread and maintaining the ease of lockdown measures. However, many people are concerned for the third of elderly people who still remain completely unvaccinated. 

“We should protect old and vulnerable people, not young children who do not really benefit from it,” one Twitter user said. 

As the requirement for vaccines continue, misinformation and knowledge are becoming intertwined. Perhaps as public opinion suggests, the government needs to focus on completely vaccinating its population of vulnerable people, before it moves on to children, to which only 2 in one million have died from coronavirus. 

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