A Scottish Government Covid-19 adviser has warned that a "wave of infection of young people" is approaching if under-18s are not vaccinated against the virus.
Professor Devi Sridhar of Edinburgh University shared her concerns over the UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) concluding there was little benefit in vaccinating young people.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon previously said that she does not want the decision to vaccinate all young people be ruled out, confirming that all clinically vulnerable children over the age of 12 would receive the vaccine.
Speaking in a series of tweets, Prof Sridhar said: "Are we ready for a wave of infection in young people 0-18 (who largely don't have access to a vaccine now)? They're the group most susceptible. Thorny issue."
She added that the new Delta variant of the virus was a "gamechanger" and wasn't not being taken into account by the JCVI.
She continued: "I'm concerned that JCVI isn't paying attention to the U.S. & other countries and is instead focused on internal modelling. Delta is a gamechanger. Can understand decision to start with priority 12+ groups, then expanding to all as supply arrives. But then say that openly.
"The choice increasingly isn't 'vaccine or nothing' -> it's 'vaccine or infection'. This is how the US CDC analysed their data looking at millions of infections v. millions of vaccinations in 12-16yrs."
