and by chris whitty. they've been talking _ and by chris whitty.looked strictly has looked at the medical facts alone. i think it's entirely legitimate to do, and the valance is slightly tipped in their_ the valance is slightly tipped in their favour. the fallback is every parent _ their favour. the fallback is every parent wiii— their favour. the fallback is every parent will have the right to give their_ parent will have the right to give their consent or not —— the jcvi. i think_ their consent or not —— the jcvi. i think if— their consent or not —— the jcvi. i think if it's — their consent or not —— the jcvi. i think if it's a _ their consent or not —— the jcvi. i think if it's a quite a difficult decision— think if it's a quite a difficult decision for parents. in the case of children. _ decision for parents. in the case of children, the risk of covid is very minor— children, the risk of covid is very minor relatively speaking. similarly, a very minor risk of heart — similarly, a very minor risk of heart inflammation, which is the side effect t

is in favour— suggest that chris whitty is in favour of— suggest that chris whitty is in favour of doingoing _ something he has been in favour going ahead with, so you would think he is the _ going ahead with, so you would think he is the one who will be say it is good _ he is the one who will be say it is good idea — he is the one who will be say it is good idea and he will layout the benefits, — good idea and he will layout the benefits, these are the things we are saying. i think it will announce fairly— are saying. i think it will announce fairly quickly and i think it is probably— fairly quickly and i think it is probably a good thing overall. i think— probably a good thing overall. i think parents... the thing about this, _ think parents... the thing about this, the — think parents... the thing about this, the vaccines generally, they should _ this, the vaccines generally, they should not— this, the vaccines generally, they should not really have a major impact — should not really have a major impact on _ should not really have a major impact on kids, on their health, and there _ i

doctor chris whitty— jcvi have approved it. doctor chris whitty has — jcvi have approved it. now as well and we could be seeing it in very soon _ and we could be seeing it in very soon. ~ . , and we could be seeing it in very soon. ~ ., , ., ~ ., soon. we are still talking about this tool box _ soon. we are still talking about this tool box as _ soon. we are still talking about this tool box as natalie - soon. we are still talking about. this tool box as natalie mentioned but we will turn to the front page of the express in a minute. just to let our viewers know that emma reynolds —— emma raducanu isjust one game away from winning the us women's open for 2021. so to continue with their virus question, your thoughts on the story in the sunday express. just a on the story in the sunday express. justa warning... on the story in the sunday express. just a warning... on the express story, the prime minister is continuing to explore options for the winter when it comes to keeping control of covid. he has six expressed a preference for stepping back, especially from lockdowns. this

ministers have now asked this man, the chief medical officer for england, chris whitty, and his counterpartsr nations of the uk, to report back on the wider implications on children's lives, including education. ministers have got to look at the whole range of potential benefits and harms, and one of the things that's been very disruptive to young people has been the disruption in their schooling. a source told the bbc that the government believes there is a strong case for extending the vaccine roll—out to that younger age group. ultimately, it will be ministers in the four nations who will have to decide, as more secondary school pupils return after their summer break. jim reed, bbc news. earlier, i spoke to 0lga alonso. she's originally from barcelona but now lives in surrey with her two children. she says her 13—year—old is keen to get a jab. shall be willing to take the vaccination just to make sure she's a shave and everyone else�*s safe around —— she's a safe. and we don't have another fiasco come christmas. for government sources believe that vaccinating this age group could reduce t

england's chief medical officer chris whitty, a pivotalfigure in the pandemic, said vaccination wouldtion to learning. we do not think that this is a panacea, it is not a silver bullet, it is not a single thing that, on its own, will do so but we think it is an important and potentially useful additional tool to help reduce the public health impacts that come through educational disruptions. isn't there a danger that many parents, and indeed children, are going to be left confused after thejcvi didn't recommend vaccines for this age group and now you are? in medicine, you have to take factors into account, some of which are very direct and some of which are broader and that is a pretty standard way of approaching risk and benefit. so we would see this as not in conflict. if you measure that angle there... like schools across the uk, st margaret's academy in liverpool has faced huge disruption over the pandemic. at some point, more than half its 1,000 pupils have been self—isolating, rather than in class. so they support today's decision. it's been very, very difficult. the sooner we c

and his three — four nations and chris whitty and his three other colleagues have said they are _ histhis is due to happen on september the 22nd, ten days' time. how will this happen, how will it be administered in schools particularly when _ administered in schools particularly when schools are trying to catch up? there _ when schools are trying to catch up? there are _ when schools are trying to catch up? there are lots of questions and as joe rightly— there are lots of questions and as joe rightly says, the messaging has been muddled. when it comes to vaccines, — been muddled. when it comes to vaccines, we have been obsessed with it over— vaccines, we have been obsessed with it over the _ vaccines, we have been obsessed with it over the last 18 months, if you -et it over the last 18 months, if you get a _ it over the last 18 months, if you get a muddled message right from the top, that— get a muddled message right from the top, that does not inspire confidence.— top, that does not inspire confidence. . . ., , confidence. there are another couple of stories on — confidence. there ar

professor chris whitty�*s report highlights huge health inequalities including significant differencesargate, will die 15 years earlier on average than men in tunbridge wells. our health correspondent mark norman has the details... good morning, everyone, - welcome to margate park run! the park run in cliftonville, margate, attracts almost 200 people every week. they run alongside the stunning kent coastline and staying healthy is their number one reason for taking part. but walk 20 yards across the road and you're in some of the most deprived and challenged areas in the country. 0nce grand houses, converted into hundreds of often poor quality bedsits. professor whitty�*s report highlights the link between poor housing, poor health outcomes and the risk of dying young. one of the quotes that stood out for me in his report was the fact that people live short lives in poor health in coastal communities. yes, of course, he mentioned smoking, alcohol, and drug abuse, but the other big issue was that people here had very high rates of preventable illness. illnesses such as heart disease, di

england's chief medical officer, chris whitty, a pivotal figure in the pandemic, said vaccination wouldsruption to learning. we do not think that this is a panacea, this is not a silver bullet, it's not a single thing that on its own will do so, but we think it is an important and potentially useful additional tool to help reduce the public health impacts that come through educational disruptions. isn't there a danger that many parents, and indeed children, are going to be left confused after thejcvi didn't recommend vaccines for this age group and now you are? in medicine, you have to take factors into account, some of which are very direct and some of which are broader, and that's a pretty standard way of approaching risk and benefit. so we would see this as not in conflict. if you measure that angle there... like schools across the uk, st margaret's academy in liverpool has faced huge disruption over the pandemic. at some points, more than half its 1,000 pupils have been self—isolating rather than in class. so they support today's decision. it's been very, very difficult. the sooner

so, look, i know that is. what chris whitty has said and it is what chris whitty has said and it is whatb i have said, but this raises a whole other host of concerns about whether actually this will be truly voluntary because at this point and in the context of such a finely balanced decision that jcvi have been unable to recommend this,... jcvi have been unable to recommend this,..., , ., jcvi have been unable to recommend this,... , .,, . ., ., this, . .. just to be clear about what the did this, . .. just to be clear about what they did say _ this, . .. just to be clear about what they did say because _ this, . .. just to be clear about what they did say because it _ this, . .. just to be clear about what they did say because it is - they did say because it is important. you are right, they didn't recommend it for a wide roll—out, but they did say in their statement there are benefits for 12-15 statement there are benefits for 12—15 —year—olds, but because they are marginal benefits, that is why they weren't recommending a roll—out. i they weren't recommending a roll-out. , ., ., they

so the assessment now goes to chris whitty and the other chief medical officers.o a clinical epidemiologist from queen barry university, london, and a member of thejcvi. doctor, good to speak to you again. what you make of this decision by thejc you again. what you make of this decision by the jc vi effectively to say, this is our sense of it, but actually we think it's over to you chief medical officers to make the final decision ——jcvi? my chief medical officers to make the final decision —— jcvi? my apologies for that. tt’s final decision -- jcvi? my apologies for that. �* , final decision -- jcvi? my apologies forthat. h . , ., final decision -- jcvi? my apologies for that. h . , ., , for that. it's fine. the decision is shocking- _ for that. it's fine. the decision is shocking. let's _ for that. it's fine. the decision is shocking. let's be _ for that. it's fine. the decision is shocking. let's be clear, - for that. it's fine. the decision is shocking. let's be clear, the - shocking. let's be clear, the benefit to risk evaluation was evaluated for months. i'm

i he professor chris whitty, can i ask ou a he professor chris whitty, can i ask you a question _ he medical profession as a whole feels comfortable we have considered all the various angles, and therefore we can communicate that to children and families. some decisions are completely barn door obvious. if you are talking to someone who is 85 and they are choosing not to get vaccinated, the short answer is just get the jab. this is going to have a very high chance of stopping you dying. whereas actually in this situation it is a more difficult one, and i think it is appropriate therefore people have taken longer to get to this and to make sure we weighed up all the different elements to get this right. so i think it is always nicer to be able to package it in a very simple way but it is fundamentally more important to get the decision in a way i think people feel comfortable and is the centre of medical and public health opinion, and then we are here but also importantly are the public health care officials around the country can communicate it, as they do day in, day out. much of me

the important thing professor chris whitty— important thing professor chris whitty wanted to stress yesterday will reassure parents. interesting. lam he hopes that will reassure parents. interesting. i am struck that a lot of the questions are about vaccinating children. that is clearly where the key issues are right now. break away from this for a moment, announcements today about boosterjabs, this is a third jab for anyone who is 50 or over across the uk and other groups as well. james houston has sent a question about boosters, my wife is 60 and she had the oxford—astrazeneca and we hear that the boosterjab will be the pfizer, will this be as effective or could you get the booster with astrazeneca? goad booster with astrazeneca? good tuestion. booster with astrazeneca? good question- his — booster with astrazeneca? good question. his wife _ booster with astrazeneca? good question. his wife are _ booster with astrazeneca? good question. his wife are 16 - booster with astrazeneca? good question. his wife are 16 so - booster with astrazeneca? good question. his wife are 16 so she will be — qu

i says the vaccines watchdog is under fire for passing the buck to chief medical officers like chris whittyis now under pressure to push through jabs for 12—15—year—olds. the ft reports that apple is delaying its plans for a child sexual abuse detection code, after criticism from privacy campaigners. jeremy kyle tells the sun that he was "scapegoated" over the suspected suicide of steve dymond — the participant on his daytime tv show — and that axing the programme left him on anxiety pills. the independent�*s main picture feature is of the film spencer, which has premiered in venice and — the paper says — will infuriate traditionalists. "no respect!" is the headline in the express, amid buckingham palace fury as the queen's funeral plans are leaked. the mirror sums up its feeling about the royal funeral leak with the headline "how could they?" it isa it is a question i should be asking my guests, geraldine and james, but, james, do you want to because our first of all of the front of the guardian?— first of all of the front of the guardian? ~ , , , ., , , guardian? absolutely. obviously it

it's just to warn people that actually, this is not over, and as professor patrick vallance and chris whittyndoors and less ventilation and closer together. it isjust we're indoors and less ventilation and closer together. it is just a warning. rememberthe prime and closer together. it is just a warning. remember the prime minister has his libertarian backbenchers snapping at him, the anti—vaxxers and people who don't want 12 or is—year—olds to be vaccinated. boris johnson�*s that he was against vaccine passports. sajid javid said the same thing the other day. so, we got... there's this push and pull we've seen all the way through since march last year. but you cannot... it's out there. march last year. but you cannot... it's out there-— up up to 7000 a day in hospital. between 2007 people a day could be hospitalised with covid unless the government implements a basket of measures. what do you think the government should do? is what do you think the government should do? , , , should do? is interested but vallance said _ should do? is interested but vallance said today, - should do? is inter

ministers have now asked this man, the chief medical officer for england, chris whitty, and his counterpartss on children's lives, including education. we're not the medical scientists. we don't want to enter into that territory but we do think the question of disruption in schools and the measures that we can take to avoid that disruption, they should be front and centre for the government at the moment. a source told the bbc that the government believes there is a strong case for extending the vaccine roll—out to that younger age group. ultimately, it will be ministers in the four nations who will have to decide, as more secondary school pupils return after their summer break. jim reed, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... the taliban claims its fighters are closing in on the last but afghanistan's new leaders are still to announce a new government. the new zealand terror attacker is named amid tried to join a jihadist group. the prime minister of thailand has survived a censure vote in parliament, in which some members of his own party manoeuvred to replace him. this is general prayuth.

england's chief medical officer, chris whitty, a pivotal figure in the pandemic, said vaccination would panacea, this is not a silver bullet, it's not a single thing that on its own will do so, but we think it is an important and potentially useful additional tool to help reduce the public health impacts that come through educational disruptions. isn't there a danger that many parents, and indeed children, are going to be left confused after thejcvi didn't recommend vaccines for this age group and now you are? in medicine, you have to take factors into account, some of which are very direct and some of which are broader, and that's a pretty standard way of approaching risk and benefit. so we would see this as not in conflict. if you measure that angle there... like schools across the uk, st margaret's academy in liverpool has faced huge disruption over the pandemic. at some points, more than half its 1,000 pupils have been self—isolating rather than in class. so they support today's decision. it's been very, very difficult. the sooner we can get back to the routine of everybody coming i

also the prime minister and professor chris whitty have had i professor chris whitty have had found themselveson't need, they are untrue. then— they don't need, they are untrue. then boris— they don't need, they are untrue. then borisjohnson said he didn't really know who nicki minaj was, that prompted her to send a weird audio message on twitter where she put on a weird english accent, and i think it might develop because in that interview with you, sajid javid, without naming nicki minaj, accused her of seeking the oxygen of publicity which i suspect might not go down well with her. so this is goodbye, we have only been together for nine months at 20 years but it is great! i for nine months at 20 years but it is treat! . ., . for nine months at 20 years but it is treat! , . , ., . for nine months at 20 years but it is treat! , ., , ., . ,., is great! i shall be watching you, sendint is great! i shall be watching you, sending you _ is great! i shall be watching you, sending you a — is great! i shall be watching you, sending you a virtual— is great! i shall be watching you, sending you a virtu

ministers have now asked this man, the chief medical officer for england, chris whitty, and his counterpartsnations of the uk, to report back on the wider implications on children's lives, including education. we're not the medical scientists. we don't want to enter into that territory but we do think the question of disruption in schools and the measures that we can take to avoid that disruption, they should be front and centre for the government at the moment. a source told the bbc that the government believes there is a strong case for extending the vaccine roll—out to that younger age group. ultimately, it will be ministers in the four nations who will have to decide, as more secondary school pupils return after their summer break. jim reed, bbc news. the perilous state of the planet s wildlife is being laid bare at the world's largest biodiversity summit. the international union for conservation of nature has released its revised �*red list�* of endangered species — with some good news for tuna. but the fate of many other animals still hangs in the balance. courtney bembridge reports. w

ministers have now asked this man, the chief medical officer for england, chris whitty, and his counterpartson children's lives, including education. ministers have got to look at the whole range of potential benefits and harms, and one of the things that's been very disruptive to young people has been the disruption in their schooling. a source told the bbc that the government believes there is a strong case for extending the vaccine roll—out to that younger age group. ultimately, it will be ministers in the four nations who will have to decide, as more secondary school pupils return after their summer break. jim reed, bbc news. the headlines on bbc news... the taliban claims its fighters are closing in on the last organised group defying them in the panjshir valley. but afghanistan's new leaders are still to announce a new government. the new zealand terror attacker is named, amid reports he'd tried tojoin ajihadist group. sport and for a full round up from the bbc sport centre, here'sjohn watson. matteo berrettini was one up at wimbledon but recovered and was cheered on by a raucous crowd

explaning the decision, england's chief medical officer professor chris whitty said the benefits of havingne dose of the pfizerjab outweighs the risk to a sufficient degree. the decision took into account the impact the pandemic has had on a child's education. professor whitty admitted the disruption caused by the pandemic had been extraordinarily difficult for schoolchildren and had a big impact on their mental health. the uk medicines regulator said the vaccine had been rigourously reviewed with trials carried out on more than 2,000 12to15—year—olds — with side effects in this age group being very rare. the reason we wanted to lay this out fairly clearly is obviously it is a difficult decision, which is why we have been asked to make of you on this and what i am glad to say is that i want to start from the first principle of medicine saying that it is always about balancing risk and benefit and if by doing something, the benefits exceed the risks compared to not doing something, thenit compared to not doing something, then it is a sensible thing to do it if it's the other way around, it

those voices, and chris whitty today said the idea we're all...t to get on with normal life. i think that's what they're focusing on, and thinking they don't want to see... the mail have been strident campaigners for resuming normal life, but they don't want to see those voices prevailing in the weeks and months to come. and pushing us down the route of renewed restrictions, and although the rhetoric today is all about how we will be getting back, we've been here before. so, i can see why they would take that view. let's look at the daily express, which has a similar story. boris confident covid plan means no return to lockdown. i know this has scare quotes up around it, and you almost think the actual meaning is 180 degrees the other way.- think the actual meaning is 180 degrees the other way. yes, it is a bit of an ominous _ degrees the other way. yes, it is a bit of an ominous one. _ degrees the other way. yes, it is a bit of an ominous one. we're - bit of an ominous one. we're absolutely confident. this is a slightly— absolutely confident. thi

i canno t believe that a press conference about covid ended up as a sort of rap battle between chris whittys still the rules for us, that is still part of our winter plan. i don't know, actually, that could take us quite a long way to the rest of the year, and of course and the thing about winter in the nhs, do you remember whenjeremy hunt told us on newscast at the mentor in the nhs lasts until april the next year. it's only september, we've been talking about it all day. something big happened stop at the base chapel, and it's pretty much nearly done as we were recording this on thursday evening, but let's recap the big winners, because what's been happening today on thursday as the lower runs of the latter, the top runs were done on wednesday that big winners are liz truss, foreign secretary and then nadeem, probably rewarded for it the vaccine route. a big challenge about how to get everyone caught up from all the learning that they missed during the pandemic, which of course very own evenly spread across the country. and then i think probably the biggest, is this the biggest surprise p

the assessment now goes to chris whitty and the other chief medical officers but for now, parents andll have to wait. , ., ,, , ., , to wait. fergus, thank you. fergus walsh. a former conservative health secretary has said the government must "bite the bullet" and bring in tax rises to fund the nhs and social care. jeremy hunt said the pressures on the sector are only going to increase following the pandemic. the government is due to announce some measures next week to address the challenges faced by the nhs in england as the number of people waiting for procedures is at a record high. 0ur health editor hugh pym reports. i'm not half the man i was. compared to what i could do, i am nowhere near the guy. wayne from derbyshire has had a painful and sometimes traumatic wait of more than two years for treatment for gallstones. after six months of assessment, he was put on the list for an operation early last year but while waiting for surgery, he became seriously ill and spent months in hospital. he had to learn to walk again and build up his strength. welcome home! and he was discharged

ministers have now asked this man, the chief medical officer for england, chris whitty, and his counterpartsher nations of the uk, to report back on the wider implications on children's lives, including education. ministers have got to look at the whole range of potential benefits and harms, and one of the things that's been very disruptive to young people has been the disruption in their schooling. a source told the bbc that the government believes there is a strong case for extending the vaccine roll—out to that younger age group. ultimately, it will be ministers in the four nations who will have to decide, as more secondary school pupils return after their summer break. jim reed, bbc news. other countries such as france, spain, poland and the netherlands have already decided to vacinante younger teens. in italy, the government is prioritising inoculation of those between 12 and 18 before the start of the new school term. professor paolo pelosi is head of anaesthesiology and intensive care at san martino hospital in genoa. thank you forjoining us this evening, professor. maybe we can start

ministers have now asked this man, the chief medical officer for england, chris whitty, and his counterparts the uk, to report back on the wider implications on children's lives including education. ministers have got to look at the whole range of potential benefits and harms and one of the things that has been very disruptive to young people has been the disruption in their schooling. a source told the bbc that the government believes there is a strong case for extending the vaccine roll out to that younger age group. ultimately it will be ministers in the four nations who will have to decide as more secondary school pupils return after their summer break. jim reed, bbc news. stevejones is parent to a 13 year old — who in fact turns 1a tomorrow. he is not in favour of teens receiving the vaccine for ethical reasons. my my view is that a medical intervention needs to be done for health reasons benefiting the individual receiving that medical intervention. if the intervention potentially puts them at more risk and benefit, but receiving a benefit the people, i see that as dubious ethical terr

i am looking forward to hearing what chris whitty says and i follow the jcvi forward to hearing whatnow. so much work has gone in trying to improve diversity. particularly in the ftse100. there are no black chairman or chief financial officers. there are the ones where there is not that representation there. in the united states it is slightly better but by no means great and a lot of work is going into making sure that pipeline of work, blackjunior executives working their way through the system, in the hope that one day they will be able to take those top jobs. the launch of 10,000 black interns initiative is designed to do that to get more black people into business with the being able to work in those top jobs one day. we can get the thoughts of the programme director. esther odejimi—uzokwe is programme director at 10,000 black interns. explain why this is desperately needed? first, thank you for having me. yes, this is desperately needed. rehashing some of the stance you quoted in the introduction, this is a problem that has been present for many years, before esther was ever a

we heard from professor chris| whitty yesterday, saying the whole idea, whitty yesterday, saying theult 18 months. that must be music to everybody's years, wasn't it? yeah, it's fantastic. _ everybody's years, wasn't it? yeah, it's fantastic. the _ everybody's years, wasn't it? yeah, it's fantastic. the young _ everybody's years, wasn't it? yeah, it's fantastic. the young people i everybody's years, wasn't it? yeah, it's fantastic. the young people of l it's fantastic. the young people of this country— it's fantastic. the young people of this country never— it's fantastic. the young people of this country never cease - it's fantastic. the young people of this country never cease to - it's fantastic. the young people of this country never cease to amaze me. this country never cease to amaze me they— this country never cease to amaze me they are _ this country never cease to amaze me. they are incredibly— this country never cease to amaze me. they are incredibly resilient. i me. they are incredibly resilient. the staff— me. they are incredibly resilient. the staff in— me. they are incr

he will be joined by the chief medical officer for england, professor chris whitty, and the government'sage starts on the bbc news channel at 3pm this afternoon. tune in for that. the prime minister's mother has died at the age of 79. it was announced that charlotte johnson wahl died "suddenly and peacefully" yesterday in hospital in london. borisjohnson once described his mother, who was an artist, as the "supreme authority" in the family. senior figures from across the political spectrum have sent their condolences. the kremlin has announced that president putin is self—isolating after members of his staff tested posititive for covid—19. a spokesman insisted the president was "absolutely healthy" and his work was not affected. the number ofjob vacancies in the uk hit a record high over the summer. and the office for national statistics says the number of people on company payrolls has returned to pre—pandemic levels in most parts of the country — although one and a half million people remain on furlough. 0ur economics correspondent andy verity reports. at this lincolnshire haulier, lik

professor chris whitty told mps earlier that roughly half of all children had probably already had covidrmly that people who have an infection are likely to be off school for longer than people who have a vaccination on average. and therefore since virtually any child unvaccinated is likely to get an infection at some point between 12—15, that is the correct comparison, not against nothing. and that's a really key point. president biden is asking world leaders to pledge to vaccinate 70% of the world's population against covid—19 by september next year. at a virtual summit, he said america would buy an additional 500 million doses of the pfizer vaccine to donate to poor countries, but research shows that richer nations still have a surplus of doses, some of which are reaching their expiry date. 0ur health editor hugh pym has more details. wealthier nations are pushing on with boosterjabs, but it's a different story in low income countries in africa and around the world, where vaccination rates are much lower. that divergence has been criticised by the world health organization, and there'

ministers have now asked this man, the chief medical officer for england, chris whitty, and his counterpartsk at the whole _ education. ministers have got to look at the whole range - education. ministers have got to look at the whole range of i education. ministers have got to i look at the whole range of potential benefits and harms and one of the things that has been very disruptive to young people has been the disruption in their schooling. ihi, disruption in their schooling. a source told the bbc that the government believes there is a strong case for extending the vaccine roll out to that younger age group. ultimately it will be ministers in the four nations who will have to decide is more secondary school pupils return after their summer break. jim reed, bbc news. let's take a look at the latest uk coronavirus figures — there were just over 37,500 new infections recorded in the latest 24—hour period, which means an average of 35,051 per day in the last week. the figures also show there were 7,541 people in hospital being treated for coronavirus two days ago. 120 deaths were reported i

professor chris whitty, the chief medical officer for england, said it was about weighing up the risks turn, would save 110,000 days of missed face—to—face schooling or one day for every 20 pupils. only one dose will be offered. the chief medical officers say that is related to the very rare risk of a condition called myocarditis, also known as inflamation of the heart. it's estimated there will be between 3 to 17 cases for every! million doses. symptoms of myocarditis include chest pains, shortness of breath and palpatations, but these are usually mild and short lived. our correspondent zoe conway has been getting reaction from teachers, pupils and parents. soon, it won'tjust be lateral flow tests on offer in the sports hall. in the next few weeks, 12 to 15—year—olds will be able to get their first covid vaccine in school. bexleyheath academy experienced severe disruption during lockdown. they welcome the idea of vaccinating their pupils. what it provides an opportunity to reduce any disruption that we see to schooling across the next academic year. over the last two years, there's be

spaces or considering how many people they see or how they ventilate the house when they meet, and chris whittythat it's clear that people are still doing those things, otherwise the rates would be much higher than they were now. so they seem to be going with that, but then with that additional extra vaccination to that booster programme to mentor the programme to get a dose of the vaccine to 12—15 —year—olds, so they are relying on vaccination as the central defence, if you like him going into the autumn and winter. plus testing from isolating if you test positive, and then these sort of voluntary actions and hoping that we'll see them through the winter within that plan b being where you move into some sort of mandatory action, so, for example, making it compulsory to wear facemasks and example, making it compulsory to wearfacemasks and in example, making it compulsory to wear facemasks and in some places, bringing in those covid passports from the vaccine passports which have been controversial here. that is in plan b, though, interestingly, the government is encouraging those businesses whi

the chief medical officer in england, chris whitty, and his counterparts in wales, scotland and northernbenefits of vaccinating 12— to15—year—olds, and reducing transmission of the virus in schools, on balance outweighed the small risk of side effects. but they recommended that children should only be offered one dose of the pfizer vaccine. three million children could now be eligible for the jab. we do not think this is a panacea, a silver bullet, a single thing that on its own will do so, but we think it is an important and potentially useful additional tool to help reduce the public health impacts that come through educational disruptions. the uk is something of an outlier where vaccinating 12—15 year olds is concerned. while the uk and germany have only been vaccinating children over 16, and some younger children who are clinically vulnerable to covid—19 — spain, france and italy have been vaccinating children above 12 for the past few months. across the atlantic, canada and the us have been vaccinating children above 12 since may last year. i'm joined now by dr bud wiedermann — a pe

so, the assessment now goes to chris whitty and the other chief medical officers, but for now, parentssani is a clinical epidemiologist at queen mary university of london. she strongly disagrees with thejcvi not recommending jabs for 12—15 year olds. the decision is frankly completely shocking. i mean, let's be clear, the benefit versus risk equation has been very, very clear for months and many countries have done this analysis. i'm rather shocked by the analysis the jcvi have done because it's really misleading and vastly underestimated the risk to children by claiming the risk is two per million when they use population denominators in the actual risk of 10,000 for the same day daya they are using. but putting that aside, i mean, the idea that we should be looking at direct to children is important, but it's very, very clear that if you use the correct statistics, the benefits in terms of hospitalisations, deaths, long covid directed to children far outweigh the risks. so, we don't need to invoke wider benefits which also exist to justify vaccinating children. in fact, it's reckless

chris whitty and his colleagues and they are going to review this decision, looking also at the possibleers of all four nations of the uk to see if that decision around whether the wider harms and benefits of closing a might push the decision towards offering the vaccine. ,., . . decision towards offering the vaccine. ., . ., vaccine. the balance that was decided, the _ vaccine. the balance that was decided, the reason - vaccine. the balance that was decided, the reason this - vaccine. the balance that was decided, the reason this was| vaccine. the balance that was| decided, the reason this was a balancing act is because of the weighing up the risk of that age group versus the potential side effect of the vaccine.— group versus the potential side effect of the vaccine. that's right and we're talking _ effect of the vaccine. that's right and we're talking about - effect of the vaccine. that's right and we're talking about very - effect of the vaccine. that's right. and we're talking about very small numbers on both sides. the risks as we know of covid to children in that age group is incr

moment to think but 15 conservative mps have signed a letter to england's chief medical officer, chris whittyconsidered.— school closure should not be considered. , ., , considered. they urge him to focus onl on considered. they urge him to focus only on the — considered. they urge him to focus only on the health _ considered. they urge him to focus only on the health benefits - considered. they urge him to focus only on the health benefits and - only on the health benefits and downsides of the vaccine. but parents remain in limbo. they would want clarity on whether their children will be offered the vaccine or not. a final decision is expected within days. we will talk about that much more throughout the day. home office officials have admitted that long immigration queues at heathrow airport on friday were unacceptable. passengers had to wait several hours and some were reported to have fainted. the airport has blamed the uk border force for not providing enough staff. kathryn stanczyszyn reports. long queues and set up passengers. these have been the scenes at heathrow airport this weekend

the daily telegraph adds that ministers are confident that chris whitty and the other chief medical officersill be the first time minsters deviate from the recommendations of scientists. we will be spending a bit of time this morning throughout the morning talking with some of our experts that we speak to on a weekly basis, just around some of the arguments around thejcvi, what their call is, and what might happen next, and why it is that it is quite a nuanced debate this time around. the chief medical officers had to consider the impact on education, and the wider community if teenagers don't have a jab. a quick look inside the papers this morning, the times is reporting on the hopes around the new james times is reporting on the hopes around the newjames bond times is reporting on the hopes around the new james bond film which is out later this week, no time to die, we saw the final trailer released of that, box office takings at the moment are around half of what they were pre— pandemic, and so the hope is that this will deliver a box office killing. we will be talking about that a little