Chris Whitty says COVID-19 transmission highest in children
September 23, 2021, 9:13 am

Chris Whitty says COVID-19 transmission highest in children

Covid-chilldren

The Menafn reported according to Reuters, England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said on Wednesday that COVID-19 transmission was currently highest in 12- to 15-year-olds, and that almost all unvaccinated children would get infected at some point.

All those in the 12-15 age bracket in England are to be offered a COVID-19 vaccine after Whitty and his colleagues said last week that children would benefit from reduced disruption to their education.

"There is definitely substantial transmission happening in this age group," Whitty told lawmakers. "In fact, the age group we're talking about is the one in which the highest rate of transmission is currently occurring, as far as we can tell."

Britain reported 34,460 new COVID cases on Wednesday, and has averaged over 20,000 new daily cases since late June.

Whitty said the vaccine advice focussed purely on the benefit to the children, and had not been made for political reasons or for the benefit of more vulnerable adults.

Although around half of children have probably already had COVID-19, he said, protection may wane and a vaccination programme would be less disruptive to schools than if the children caught COVID-19.

He said: "The great majority of children who have not currently had COVID are going to get it at some point."

"It won't necessarily be in the next two or three months but they will get it sooner or later because this is incredibly infectious and because immunity wanes, we're not going to see a situation where it just sort of stops at a certain point."

Whitty said vaccines would reduce the risk of infection by 50%, possibly more.

The highly transmissible Delta variant, now dominant in Britain, has made health officials around the world reassess how the pandemic is managed, and especially the impact of vaccines on transmission.

"We do not think it is possible to stop completely transmission," Wei Shen Lim, COVID-19 chair of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, told the lawmakers.

"That does not mean that there will be no impact on transmission."

Source: menafn

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”