Climate minister and Cop26 president Alok Sharma has been accused of flying to some 30 countries in the past 30 months – six of them on the UK’s travel “red list” – without isolating upon his return, in a move branded “bizarre and dangerous” by Labour.
Meanwhile, the Office for National Statistics estimates that some 34,000 children are living with long Covid in the UK – experiencing symptoms that have persisted for a period of four weeks or longer, such as fatigue, headaches, or loss of smell.
It comes amid concerns that the vaccination of 16 and 17-year-olds is coming too late to stop the spread of the virus in schools from September, with scientists criticising the “unnecessary delay” in jabbing that age group. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) changed its policy to advise offering vaccines to over-16s on Wednesday.
Experts are also fearful that children will be left vulnerable to infection and persistent symptoms upon their return to school next month unless the vaccine rollout is expanded to children aged 12 and above – with some warning that any hope of achieving herd immunity is dependent upon inoculating that age group.
