Health officials have been forced to correct consent forms being given to children after wrongly telling them getting the Covid jab would give them extra freedoms.
The “easy read” forms, distributed to children aged 12 to 15, claim having a vaccine will free them from government rules that apply to the unvaccinated. In fact, the same rules apply to all children regardless of vaccination status.
This week, more than 500 schools will start offering Covid vaccinations to children, with most due to be offered a jab by half-term.
Consent letters are being sent to parents and guardians, but children are deemed competent to make their own decision if families do not agree.
The “easy read” consent form for children from the UK Health Security Agency and NHS says: “You don’t have to keep following the Government’s rules if you have been vaccinated, but they will help you to stay safe. This includes social distancing, wearing a face covering and washing your hands carefully and often.”
Molly Kingsley, from parents’ campaign group UsforThem described the advice as “exceptionally wrong”.
After being contacted by The Telegraph, officials said the form would be corrected to say: “You should keep following the Government’s rules if you have been vaccinated.”
The amendments say such rules include “wearing a face covering and washing your hands carefully and often.”
Laws requiring face coverings in certain indoor settings and public transport were lifted on July 19 and replaced with a recommendation to wear them in crowded situations.
While some of the Government’s rules apply differently to adults who have been vaccinated, no such distinctions have been made for children.
Almost three million children in the 12 to 15 age group are eligible for one dose of the Pfizer vaccine. Under changes introduced in August, adults who are double jabbed do not have to be isolated if they come into contact with a person who tests positive. At the same time, the rules were relaxed for children who are contacts of positive cases.
A spokesman for the UKHSA said: “The leaflet had a small typo and will be corrected.”
