Health

Allowing mass infection of children is “reckless” and all over-12s should be offered a coronavirus vaccine, a group of scientists has warned.Experts from across the globe, alongside parents, carers and educational staff, have written to education secretary Gavin Williamsonto raise their concerns about the impact of the pandemic on education.They argue policies in England mean there will soon be a large population “susceptible” to the virus mixing in crowded spaces with “hardly any mitigations”.Earlier school reopenings in Scotland and the US have shown a lack of “adequate mitigations” is likely to lead to the virus spreading among children, which could further disrupt learning with significant absences due to student and staff illness, they said.In an open letter published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), they warn: “England’s policies mean that we will soon have a large susceptible population with high prevalence of infection mixing in crowded environments with hardly any mitigations.”They said children have suffered “significant harms” in the pandemic, including from long Covid, adding: “Allowing mass infection of children is therefore reckless.”Research led by University College London and Public Health England and published this week found as many as one in seven children who get coronavirus could have symptoms almost four months later.People who tested positive were twice as likely to report three or more symptoms 15 weeks later than those who tested negative, the study suggested.But lead author Professor Sir Terence Stephenson said he felt “reassured” by the data, which he believes shows it is “nowhere near what people thought in the worst-case scenario”.The group behind the letter to Mr Williamson called for vaccines to be offered “to all 12 to 15-year-olds, with rollout in schools to maximise access and uptake”.They also called for rules on face coverings for secondary school students and staff in classrooms and for bubbles to be reinstated, as well as more investment in building ventilation.The signatories included scientists from UK, US, Germany, India and Norway.Members of Independent Sage, the Parent SafeEdForAll group and the National Education Union were among those who added their names to the list.The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is yet to give a recommendation on extending the jabs rollout to all healthy 12 to 15-year-olds.Mr Williamson said this week he hoped a decision would be made “very, very soon”, and indicated his support for a widening of the programme by saying a lot of people “very much hope that we’re in a position of being able to roll out vaccinations for those who are under the age of 16”.Additional reporting by Press Association More

NHS leaders and experts have warned that the health service is facing a “mass exodus” of staff in the year ahead unless exhausted doctors and nurses struggle are given more support.It comes as the latest figures show that mental health absences among NHS staff have soared during the spring and early summer – as a growing number suffer from burnout.There were 13,000 NHS staff off work because of mental health issues in May – a 55 per cent increase on the previous year, according to FirstCare, which monitors absences in the health service. There were another 13,000 absences mental health absences in June – up 42 per cent on last year.“From April onwards we’ve seen a significant rise in mental health cases, and it shows no sign of stopping,” Steve Carter, director of consulting services at FirstCare, told a panel of MPs and peers on Tuesday. “We need to address the mental health issue quickly if we are to get through the winter.”Professor Stephanie Snow – co-author of the NHS Voices of Covid-19 project, which asks staff how they are coping during the pandemic – said many were struggling under the strain of ongoing Covid cases and the backlog of treatments for other illnesses.Prof Snow told MPs and peers on the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Coronavirus that many doctors and nurses are worried about their colleagues quitting in the months ahead.“They’re worried about losing more colleagues,” she said. “There is a real sense of fear about a mass exodus of health professionals leaving because of their own ill health – many say they simply can’t face working in the health service anymore.”Prof Snow said staff were under huge pressure to help get the health service back to normal, while dealing with the “trauma” they experienced the Covid and underlying problems with workforce shortages.“We’re seeing high levels of burnout, high levels of stress, and it’s starting to manifest into physical symptoms,” said Dr Rachel Sumner, co-author of the Covid-19 Heroes study on the impact of the pandemic on frontline workers.Dr Sumner added: “Many [NHS staff] are considering leaving – and that would be a true tragedy. Most of them won’t leave during the pandemic because they feel it’s their duty. But this is only going to get worse unless there’s significant work done to sort out the problems. If we don’t look after them, disaster will come.”A survey of Royal College of Nursing members last month revealed that 36 per cent were thinking of leaving the profession – up from 27 per cent last year.Factors cited include the way nursing staff have been treated during the Covid pandemic (44 per cent), low staffing levels (43 per cent), and lack of management support (42 per cent).A British Medical Association survey in May found just over a fifth (21 per cent) of doctors working in the health service said they might leave within the next year.Dr Katherine Henderson, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine, told MPs and peers she was worried the most experienced staff in the NHS will leave “sooner than they should” because of current pressures and lack of support.“Older staff are going to bail out and retire early unless the things they’ve been banging on about are actually addressed. There needs to be a serious look at retention … I’m genuinely not confident there is a plan.”Rising patient numbers are placing further strain on the NHS, with major hospitals issuing a “black alert” – an emergency warning they are under sever pressure – over bed shortages in recent weeks.Two major London hospitals told The Independent earlier this month that they had declared “black alert” incidents due to bed shortages, as well as rising numbers of people turning up in A&E.Hospitals across England have seen record levels of non-Covid patients turning up at A&E, with a lack of intensive care beds meaning routine surgeries, including for some cancer patients, have been cancelled across England. More

Councils across England have called for more support after a “harrowing” rise in child deaths and serious cases of harm linked to abuse or neglect of children since the first Covid lockdown.The number of serious incidents involving children that were reported by authorities have risen by almost a fifth over the past year, according to the Local Government Association (LGA).There were 536 serious incident notifications in England between April 2020 and March 2021 – an increase of 19 per cent on the previous year.The LGA said the rise is a “huge cause for concern” and it is extremely concerned about children’s safety – with families under increased pressure during the past 18 months of the pandemic.Children’s services regulator Ofsted has previously warned that a “toxic mix” of poverty, isolation and mental illness had led to an alarming rise in infants being harmed during lockdown.Local authorities must notify the Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel of the death or serious harm of a child in their area, if they know or suspect they have been abused or neglected.Councils are also required to inform the education secretary and Ofsted if a looked-after child dies, regardless of whether they suspect abuse or neglect.Local authorities reported 223 deaths and 284 instances of serious harm in the past year, while 29 incidents were categorised as “other”. More than a third (36 per cent) of the notifications related to children under one.Council leaders said there was an urgent need for more investment in children’s social care in the government’s forthcoming spending review.Councillor Anntoinette Bramble, chair of the LGA’s children and young people board, said: “Supporting and protecting vulnerable children is one of the most important roles played by councils … so this rise in serious incident notifications is particularly harrowing and a huge cause for concern.”The Labour councillor added: “The pandemic has put extra pressure on families, particularly those living in difficult circumstances, which can fuel harmful acts of abuse or neglect on children.”“Councils have been working hard with their partners to identify this and provide the help children need, but it is vital that children’s social care services are funded to meet this need.”Ofsted’s chief inspector Amanda Spielman warned last November that vulnerable infants were at greater risk of harm during the pandemic amid increased tension in families.She said a “toxic mix” of poverty, isolation and mental illness were behind the alarming rise in incidents disturbing 20 per cent rise in babies being killed or harmed in the months after the first lockdown.The LGA is calling for a new strategy across government departments to protect children’s safety. “It is only by working together that we can effectively safeguard our most vulnerable young people,” said Ms Bramble. More