Independent SAGE has written a letter to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) asking it to release the minutes and agendas of the meetings at which it discussed vaccination for teenagers, in line with its own code of practice. No minutes of meetings at which COVID-19 was on the agenda have been released by the JCVI since February 2021.
In September the advisory body announced that 12 –15-year-old children were at such a low risk from the virus that jabs would offer only a marginal benefit. Independent SAGE has asked the JCVI to share the risk-benefit analysis and evidence that its decision was based upon.
The JCVI’s code of practice states that it ‘is committed to making as much of its work open to public scrutiny as possible’. Independent Sage is deeply concerned that openness and transparency are absent in the operation of the JCVI on COVID-19 vaccination, particularly in respect of children and young people. Such transparency is vital for public acceptability of vaccination programmes, which is a critical determinant of their success.
