Should children be vaccinated to slow the spread of Covid-19?

Questions on the risks and benefits of immunising the young will be crucial to how future doses are distributed

A child watching her grandmother receive the Covid-19 vaccine in Kentucky last month. PHOTO: AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

(FINANCIAL TIMES) - With more than one billion Covid-19 vaccine doses administered to adults around the world, debate is turning to the contentious question of whether or when to extend vaccinations to children.

The biggest vaccine manufacturers have all trialled their jabs on young people, including babies in some cases. Canada this week became the first country to approve a vaccine for children as it authorised the Pfizer-BioNTech shot, which the company said was 100 per cent effective in adolescents aged between 12 and 15.

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