This rises to 67 per million after the second dose.” That’s a nearly sevenfold increase in risk following dose two.īut the suggestion that the second jab was more dangerous than the first now seems to have been given an important caveat. In August, the JCVI wrote: “Data from the US suggests that, in males aged 12 to 17 years, 9.8 cases of myocarditis were reported per million first doses given. While the committee stressed that “most people recovered quickly” from the conditions, the risk of these possible side effects is partly why it held off on recommending 16 and 17-year-olds receive a second dose in the summer. (We looked at this in more detail in previous FactChecks). Myocarditis and pericarditis – inflammation of the heart muscle or membrane – appear more prevalent in young males who receive one of these mRNA vaccines. That’s because, even though young Brits are being offered exactly the same product as elsewhere – either the Pfizer or the Moderna vaccine – the way they are administered here seems to reduce the chances of extremely rare side effects linked to the jabs. Now we have that advice and the scientists are clear: “A second vaccine dose increases the level of protection and is important for extending the duration of protection.”īut as regular FactCheck readers will know, when we’re talking about vaccines, it’s not just their efficacy against disease that’s important – we also need to know about side effects.Īnd it’s on this front that we find a surprising piece of information buried in today’s announcement: that the second shot seems to be safer for teenagers in the UK than in some other countries, including the US. In August, the committee recommended these young people receive a single jab, promising to issue further guidance on the timing of a second shot in due course.

Otherwise healthy 16 and 17-year-olds will be offered a second dose of the Covid vaccine, following advice from the UK’s independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

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