Covid-19: Vaccination of Children — [Dame Angela Eagle in the Chair]

Part of the debate – in Westminster Hall at 10:44 am on 21 September 2021.

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Photo of Miriam Cates Miriam Cates Conservative, Penistone and Stocksbridge 10:44, 21 September 2021

I very much appreciate the point and the reassurance the Minister is giving, but even the CMOs acknowledge that the vaccine programme in and of itself is not going to end disruption to schools. Whether people choose to have this vaccine or not—which absolutely should be a free decision, as the Minister says—what is more important is the policy making around having consistent rules in schools, as Jim Shannon said, but also ending mass asymptomatic testing, which is picking up cases that it does not need to pick up and is itself causing disruption. How will the disruption to schools end, even if vaccination does go ahead and cover a wide population?