Narrow majority back vaccinating vulnerable people abroad before youth at home

A total of 685 people in the region voted "no" in our poll over whether young people under 18 across the UK should receive their jab first.

It meant 56 per cent disagreed with the suggestion while 430 people, a total of 44 per cent, were in favour of the move, the poll results show.

The issue has been the focus of intense debate – with some saying it was "morally wrong" to vaccinate the less vulnerable before others in need.

But others have said it is important to give teenagers the jab to stem the spread of the virus and to prevent further disruption to their education.

The UK's medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), has approved the Pfizer vaccine to use among children aged 12 and over.

But Government chiefs have not yet confirmed whether the vaccination programme will extend to children once the campaign to vaccine over 18s has been completed.

Dr Arthur Hosie, a microbiologist at Staffordshire University, said there was a "strong argument" for it to help limit the spread of Covid-19 cases.

But he stressed the move – could prevent the disruption of education caused by the virus – had to be taken as part of global vaccination strategy.

Dr Hosie said: "It is my view that vaccination of the under 18s is a sensible public health measure to limit the continued spread of Covid-19. Although ultimately this is a political decision. This does need to be balanced alongside ensuring those in other countries receive access to vaccines to protect health workers and the most vulnerable. The MHRA have approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine for 12 to 15 year olds, indicating they are satisfied this vaccine is safe & effective in this age group.

"Although the under 18s are less vulnerable to severe Covid-19, this is relative and there are risks to individuals in leaving this age group unprotected, including the direct impact of infection including long covid. A cursory glance at the heat-map of the age distribution of current cases in England does indeed highlight cases in a significant number of school age children, relative to other age groups.

"This contributes to the continued transmission, especially as the government have removed other control measures, such as the wearing of masks in schools. We need to stop the disruption of education, through individuals and groups isolating, and vaccinating secondary school age pupils will help in this regard. So it is in my view that there is a strong argument for immunising the 12 to 18 year olds. But this decision must be taken as part of a global vaccination strategy."