{"id":51132,"date":"2021-10-14T11:25:55","date_gmt":"2021-10-14T10:25:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?p=51132"},"modified":"2021-10-21T18:39:51","modified_gmt":"2021-10-21T17:39:51","slug":"covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/10\/14\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\/","title":{"rendered":"Covid-19 vaccination in children, adolescents, and young adults: how can we ensure high vaccination uptake?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">After a rapid start, the pace of the United Kingdom\u2019s (UK) covid-19 vaccination programme has slowed down while the UK still faces high infection, hospitalisation, and death rates, and a more transmissible Delta SARS-CoV-2 variant. Now that vaccination of children aged 12-15 has started, it is essential to achieve a high uptake of vaccination in this group, and also in young adults, to both protect them and to move the UK closer towards population level immunity. [<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">1,2]<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Despite two doses of Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, and AstraZeneca vaccines offering good protection against the Delta variant\u2014<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">with Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca vaccines between 92-96% effective in preventing hospitalisations\u2014<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">many young people remain unvaccinated by choice,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> raising their risk of infection, hospitalisation, and long-term complications from covid-19. [3-5]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The UK population is among the most willing to receive a covid-19 vaccine;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> as of 11 October 2021, over 49 million individuals (85.6% of people aged 16 and over) had received at least one dose of a covid-19 vaccine. [6,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">7]<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> However, the covid-19 vaccination programme\u2014the largest ever launched by the NHS\u2014is reaching a &#8220;demand&#8221; ceiling in adolescents and young adults, finding itself well behind other Western European countries, and hampering efforts to achieve population level immunity. If vaccination uptake is also slow in 12-15 years old children, this will further hinder efforts to reach population immunity.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Vaccination rates in younger people are lower and increasing more slowly than was seen in older age groups when they were first offered vaccination. [<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">1,8]<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> According to the Office for National Statistics, 14% of those aged 16-17 years, 10% of those aged between 22-25 years, and 9% of those aged between 18-21 years consider themselves &#8220;hesitant&#8221; compared to 4% observed across all other age groups. [<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">5]<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This mirrors concerning findings from the USA which demonstrate that one in four of those aged between 18 and 25 \u201cprobably will not\u201d or \u201cdefinitely will not\u201d receive a covid-19 vaccine, despite their heightened infection risk in recent months. [<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">9]<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Given their increased tendency to socialise, strategies that improve vaccine acceptance in adolescents and young adults remain essential to control the pandemic globally as well as in the UK. [<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">10]<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Historically, vaccine hesitancy exists on a spectrum and is listed by the WHO as one of the top 10 global health threats. [<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">11]<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The groups that are among the currently most affected by the virus are also the ones with the lowest vaccination rates. [1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">2]<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> With ideal conditions for SARS-CoV-2 to spread, the risk of emergence of &#8220;super variants&#8221; that could potentially escape vaccines and jeopardise the health of the most vulnerable in society remains a risk. Vaccine hesitancy in young people in the UK may be further increased by the delay in approving vaccination for 12\u201315 year-olds, with the UK starting vaccination later than many other European and North American countries. The message from the UK\u2019s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) that covid-19 vaccination in this group offers only \u201cmarginal benefits\u201d will also have contributed to this, with many parents and children questioning why they should be vaccinated if this is the case. [<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">13]<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The benefits and potential risk from vaccination will therefore need to be discussed carefully with children and their parents to dispel any unwarranted negative views. [<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">14]<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This has been successfully done in Portugal; despite Portuguese parents not being safe from vaccine misinformation and disinformation, the country has managed to emerge as the world\u2019s vaccination front-runner, with 86% of its population vaccinated (98% of whom are aged 12 years and over). [<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">15]<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Its successful vaccine rollout is, in part, attributed to the country\u2019s comprehensive monitoring system;<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">vaccine compliance is monitored nationally by healthcare facilities, schools, daycare centres, summer camps, and other child institutions, allowing the country to develop and tailor educational information to hesitant parents or parents known to have refused a vaccine in the past. [<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">16]<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> This has generated favourable conditions for paediatric immunisation across the country.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Concerns about side effects are an important factor in vaccine hesitancy in children, adolescents, and young adults, particularly the risk of condition such as myocarditis. [<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">9]<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Although rare, the myocarditis and pericarditis reports in adolescents and young adults, following the administration of Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">will have amplified fears of vaccines in this group. [17] However, the risk of developing complications, such as blood clots and myocarditis, from covid-19 illness remains greater than the risk from vaccines. [<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">18]<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Genuine concerns about the side effects of vaccines should be addressed by academics and clinicians proactively listening to young people, and sharing risks and benefits in a manner that aligns intention with action. [<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">19]<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> It is also essential that moving forwards, the UK\u2019s covid-19 vaccination programme is embedded in primary care to create a cost-effective, sustainable infrastructure for vaccine delivery; and to avoid making the many mistakes that were made in other parts of the covid-19 response, such as Test and Trace and the Nightingale Hospitals. [<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">20]<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">To offset optimistic bias, including adolescents and young adults perceiving the risk of disease being lower than the risk of receiving a covid-19 vaccine, communication should speak to mechanism of action, effectiveness, and safety relevant to these age groups and the wider societal benefits of vaccination in protecting their older family members, and vulnerable friends and colleagues. [<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">10,21]<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Further, public health messaging will be more effective if the benefits of controlling the pandemic, including freedom to attend festivals, sporting events and entertainment venues, as well as the ability to travel are reinforced. Targeted health messaging and public education campaigns will also require harnessing social media, schools and universities to counter the covid-19 infodemic. [<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">10]<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> To increase vaccination rates, messages should be tailored for families financially burdened by the pandemic, families with lower parental education and incomes, and adolescents and young adults with adverse childhood experiences. [<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">10]<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">While the risk of severe disease and death from covid-19 is lower in young people, high infection rates and low vaccination rates mean this group remains vulnerable to long covid and its debilitating symptoms, regardless of the symptoms shown during their covid-19 infection. [<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">9]<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> With the majority of covid-19 deaths occurring in those aged 75 years and over throughout the pandemic,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> a youthful sense of invincibility will be an important barrier to overcome; young adults need to be mindful that although their symptoms may not be as severe, 57%, 39% and 30% of individuals have stated that long covid has negatively impacted their wellbeing, ability to exercise and ability to work, respectively. [22,<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">23]<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Recent evidence suggests more people expressed fear and concern about the risk to health of those close to them. [<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">24]<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Therefore, emphasising the protection that vaccines offer to those particularly vulnerable will likely have a positive effect on adolescents and young adults and their parents.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The pandemic is a &#8220;collective action problem,&#8221; requiring personal responsibility and responsible communication by governments and public health authorities that break through optimistic bias without prompting feelings of anxiety. The UK\u2019s mixed messages on mitigation measures including face masks and working from home are likely to provide a false sense of security that discourages vaccination uptake at a time when infection rates remain much higher in the UK than other European countries. The race between vaccinations and mutations requires consistent, clear, and data-based messages that dispel misinformation, and promote informed decision-making, civic awareness, voluntary cooperation and a sense of collective purpose. This will improve vaccine uptake in all sections of the population, including children, adolescents, and young adults, at a key time when vaccination is being extended in many countries to younger age groups.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Tasnime Osama<\/strong>, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Honorary Clinical Research Fellow in Primary Care and Public Health, Department of Primary Care &amp; Public Health, Imperial College London. Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/itasnimeo?lang=en\">@itasnimeo<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Mohammad S Razai<\/strong>, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">NIHR In-Practice Fellow in Primary Care, Population Health Research Institute, St George\u2019s University of London. Twitter <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mohammadrazai?lang=en\">@MohammadRazai<\/a><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><strong>Azeem Majeed<\/strong>, <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Professor of Primary Care and Public Health, Department of Primary Care &amp; Public Health, Imperial College London. Twitter <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Azeem_Majeed?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor\"><span class=\"css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0\">@Azeem_Majeed<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><b>Competing Interests<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">: None declared.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em><b>Acknowledgements:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> AM is supported by the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration NW London. MSR is funded by the NIHR as an In-Practice Fellow. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p><b>References:<\/b><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> GOV.UK. Vaccinations in the UK 2021 doi: Available from: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.data.gov.uk\/details\/vaccinations\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/coronavirus.data.gov.uk\/details\/vaccinations<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> CIDRAP. Youth, Delta variant behind UK COVID surge. 2021 doi: Available from: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cidrap.umn.edu\/news-perspective\/2021\/06\/youth-delta-variant-behind-uk-covid-surge\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.cidrap.umn.edu\/news-perspective\/2021\/06\/youth-delta-variant-behind-uk-covid-surge<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Yale Medicine. Comparing the COVID-19 Vaccines: How Are They Different? . 2021 doi: Available from: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.yalemedicine.org\/news\/covid-19-vaccine-comparison\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.yalemedicine.org\/news\/covid-19-vaccine-comparison<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> GOV.UK. Vaccines highly effective against hospitalisation from Delta variant. 2021 doi: Available from: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/vaccines-highly-effective-against-hospitalisation-from-delta-variant\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/news\/vaccines-highly-effective-against-hospitalisation-from-delta-variant<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Office for National Statistics. Coronavirus and vaccine hesitancy, Great Britain: 26 May to 20 June 2021. 2021 doi: Available from: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ons.gov.uk\/peoplepopulationandcommunity\/healthandsocialcare\/healthandwellbeing\/bulletins\/coronavirusandvaccinehesitancygreatbritain\/26mayto20june2021\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.ons.gov.uk\/peoplepopulationandcommunity\/healthandsocialcare\/healthandwellbeing\/bulletins\/coronavirusandvaccinehesitancygreatbritain\/26mayto20june2021<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Imperial College London. Covid-19: Global attitudes towards a COVID-19 vaccine. 2021<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> GOV.UK. Daily summary. Coronavirus in the UK. 2021 doi: Available from: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/coronavirus.data.gov.uk\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/coronavirus.data.gov.uk\/<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Publich Health England.\u00a0 COVID-19 vaccine surveillance report &#8211; week 29. 2021<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> S. Leigh. Vaccine Hesitancy in Young Adults May Hamper Herd Immunity. UC San Francisco. . 2021 doi: Available from: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucsf.edu\/news\/2021\/07\/420991\/vaccine-hesitancy-young-adults-may-hamper-herd-immunity\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.ucsf.edu\/news\/2021\/07\/420991\/vaccine-hesitancy-young-adults-may-hamper-herd-immunity<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Afifi TO, Salmon S, Taillieu T, et al. Older adolescents and young adults willingness to receive the COVID-19 vaccine: Implications for informing public health strategies. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Vaccine<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 2021;39(26):3473-79.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> World Health Organization. Ten threats to global health in 2019. 2019 doi: Available from: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/spotlight\/ten-threats-to-global-health-in-2019\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.who.int\/news-room\/spotlight\/ten-threats-to-global-health-in-2019<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Public Health England. SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern and variants under investigation in England 2021<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Salisbury H. Helen Salisbury: Official hesitancy is not helping. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">bmj<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 2021;374<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Majeed A, Hodes S, Marks S. Consent for covid-19 vaccination in children. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">bmj<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 2021;374<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> The New York Times. In Portugal, There Is Virtually No One Left to Vaccinate 2021 doi: Available from: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/01\/world\/europe\/portugal-vaccination-rate.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2021\/10\/01\/world\/europe\/portugal-vaccination-rate.html<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Fonseca IC, Pereira AI, Barros L. Portuguese parental beliefs and attitudes towards vaccination. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 2021;9(1):422-35.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Myocarditis and Pericarditis Following mRNA COVID-19 Vaccination. 2021 doi: Available from: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/vaccines\/safety\/myocarditis.html\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/coronavirus\/2019-ncov\/vaccines\/safety\/myocarditis.html<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Oxford University. Risk of rare blood clotting higher for COVID-19 than for vaccines 2021 doi: Available from: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ox.ac.uk\/news\/2021-04-15-risk-rare-blood-clotting-higher-covid-19-vaccines\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.ox.ac.uk\/news\/2021-04-15-risk-rare-blood-clotting-higher-covid-19-vaccines<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Dubov A, Phung C. Nudges or mandates? The ethics of mandatory flu vaccination. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Vaccine<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 2015;33(22):2530-35.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Hodes S, Majeed A. Building a sustainable infrastructure for covid-19 vaccinations long term. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">bmj<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 2021;373<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Razai MS, Chaudhry UA, Doerholt K, et al. Covid-19 vaccination hesitancy. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">bmj<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 2021;373<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Office for National Statistics. Coronavirus (COVID-19) latest insights: Deaths. 2021 doi: Available from: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ons.gov.uk\/peoplepopulationandcommunity\/healthandsocialcare\/conditionsanddiseases\/articles\/coronaviruscovid19latestinsights\/deaths\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.ons.gov.uk\/peoplepopulationandcommunity\/healthandsocialcare\/conditionsanddiseases\/articles\/coronaviruscovid19latestinsights\/deaths<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Office for National Statistics. Coronavirus and the social impacts of \u2018long COVID\u2019 on people\u2019s lives in Great Britain 2021 doi: Available from: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ons.gov.uk\/peoplepopulationandcommunity\/healthandsocialcare\/conditionsanddiseases\/articles\/coronavirusandthesocialimpactsoflongcovidonpeopleslivesingreatbritain\/7aprilto13june2021\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.ons.gov.uk\/peoplepopulationandcommunity\/healthandsocialcare\/conditionsanddiseases\/articles\/coronavirusandthesocialimpactsoflongcovidonpeopleslivesingreatbritain\/7aprilto13june2021<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> Antonopoulou V et al. Which factors may help increase COVID-19 vaccine uptkae in England? . 2021 doi: Available from: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/research.ncl.ac.uk\/behscipru\/outputs\/policybriefings\/PRU-PB-011%20PRU%20covid%20vaccine%20policy%20brief%20study%204%20300421.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/research.ncl.ac.uk\/behscipru\/outputs\/policybriefings\/PRU-PB-011%20PRU%20covid%20vaccine%20policy%20brief%20study%204%20300421.pdf<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>After a rapid start, the pace of the United Kingdom\u2019s (UK) covid-19 vaccination programme has slowed down while the UK still faces high infection, hospitalisation, and death rates, and a [&#8230;]<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"btn btn-secondary understrap-read-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/10\/14\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\/\">More&#8230;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":51133,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[236],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nhs"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Covid-19 vaccination in children, adolescents, and young adults: how can we ensure high vaccination uptake? - The BMJ<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/10\/14\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Covid-19 vaccination in children, adolescents, and young adults: how can we ensure high vaccination uptake? - The BMJ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After a rapid start, the pace of the United Kingdom\u2019s (UK) covid-19 vaccination programme has slowed down while the UK still faces high infection, hospitalisation, and death rates, and a [...]More...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/10\/14\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The BMJ\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bmjdotcom\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-10-14T10:25:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-10-21T17:39:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2021\/10\/childhood_vaccine.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"540\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"350\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"julietwalker\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@bmj_latest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@bmj_latest\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"julietwalker\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/14\\\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/14\\\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"julietwalker\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/373707d32533c2cbca204980b8cd3493\"},\"headline\":\"Covid-19 vaccination in children, adolescents, and young adults: how can we ensure high vaccination uptake?\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-14T10:25:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-10-21T17:39:51+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/14\\\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1822,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/14\\\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/childhood_vaccine.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"NHS\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/14\\\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/14\\\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/14\\\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\\\/\",\"name\":\"Covid-19 vaccination in children, adolescents, and young adults: how can we ensure high vaccination uptake? - The BMJ\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/14\\\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/14\\\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/childhood_vaccine.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-10-14T10:25:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-10-21T17:39:51+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/14\\\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/14\\\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/14\\\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/childhood_vaccine.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/childhood_vaccine.jpg\",\"width\":540,\"height\":350,\"caption\":\"African-American young woman taking a vaccine\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/2021\\\/10\\\/14\\\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Covid-19 vaccination in children, adolescents, and young adults: how can we ensure high vaccination uptake?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/\",\"name\":\"The BMJ\",\"description\":\"Helping doctors make better decisions.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"The BMJ\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/files\\\/2018\\\/05\\\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg\",\"width\":852,\"height\":568,\"caption\":\"The BMJ\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/bmjdotcom\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/bmj_latest\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/373707d32533c2cbca204980b8cd3493\",\"name\":\"julietwalker\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/34f10b717c81464cc7a2879c84cd30078f63b5a901e12905a02abd9d1ea9ec90?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/34f10b717c81464cc7a2879c84cd30078f63b5a901e12905a02abd9d1ea9ec90?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/34f10b717c81464cc7a2879c84cd30078f63b5a901e12905a02abd9d1ea9ec90?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"julietwalker\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/blogs.bmj.com\\\/bmj\\\/author\\\/julietwalker\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Covid-19 vaccination in children, adolescents, and young adults: how can we ensure high vaccination uptake? - The BMJ","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/10\/14\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Covid-19 vaccination in children, adolescents, and young adults: how can we ensure high vaccination uptake? - The BMJ","og_description":"After a rapid start, the pace of the United Kingdom\u2019s (UK) covid-19 vaccination programme has slowed down while the UK still faces high infection, hospitalisation, and death rates, and a [...]More...","og_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/10\/14\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\/","og_site_name":"The BMJ","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bmjdotcom\/","article_published_time":"2021-10-14T10:25:55+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-10-21T17:39:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":540,"height":350,"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2021\/10\/childhood_vaccine.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"julietwalker","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@bmj_latest","twitter_site":"@bmj_latest","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"julietwalker","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/10\/14\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/10\/14\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\/"},"author":{"name":"julietwalker","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/person\/373707d32533c2cbca204980b8cd3493"},"headline":"Covid-19 vaccination in children, adolescents, and young adults: how can we ensure high vaccination uptake?","datePublished":"2021-10-14T10:25:55+00:00","dateModified":"2021-10-21T17:39:51+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/10\/14\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\/"},"wordCount":1822,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/10\/14\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2021\/10\/childhood_vaccine.jpg","articleSection":["NHS"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/10\/14\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/10\/14\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/10\/14\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\/","name":"Covid-19 vaccination in children, adolescents, and young adults: how can we ensure high vaccination uptake? - The BMJ","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/10\/14\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/10\/14\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2021\/10\/childhood_vaccine.jpg","datePublished":"2021-10-14T10:25:55+00:00","dateModified":"2021-10-21T17:39:51+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/10\/14\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/10\/14\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/10\/14\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2021\/10\/childhood_vaccine.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2021\/10\/childhood_vaccine.jpg","width":540,"height":350,"caption":"African-American young woman taking a vaccine"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/2021\/10\/14\/covid-19-vaccination-in-children-adolescents-and-young-adults-how-can-we-ensure-high-vaccination-uptake\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Covid-19 vaccination in children, adolescents, and young adults: how can we ensure high vaccination uptake?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/","name":"The BMJ","description":"Helping doctors make better decisions.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#organization","name":"The BMJ","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2018\/05\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/files\/2018\/05\/The-BMJ-logo.jpg","width":852,"height":568,"caption":"The BMJ"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bmjdotcom\/","https:\/\/x.com\/bmj_latest"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/#\/schema\/person\/373707d32533c2cbca204980b8cd3493","name":"julietwalker","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/34f10b717c81464cc7a2879c84cd30078f63b5a901e12905a02abd9d1ea9ec90?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/34f10b717c81464cc7a2879c84cd30078f63b5a901e12905a02abd9d1ea9ec90?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/34f10b717c81464cc7a2879c84cd30078f63b5a901e12905a02abd9d1ea9ec90?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"julietwalker"},"url":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/author\/julietwalker\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=51132"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51132\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51133"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=51132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=51132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bmj.com\/bmj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=51132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}