Children are more likely to be harmed by not returning to school next month than if they catch coronavirus, the UK's chief medical adviser says. Prof Chris Whitty said "the chances of children dying from Covid-19 are incredibly small" - but missing lessons "damages children in the long run". Millions of pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are due to return to school within weeks. Prof Whitty also said Covid-19 would be a challenge for at least nine months.
He said it was unlikely there would be a vaccine in 2020 but there was a "reasonable chance" of a successful jab being ready for the following winter in 2021-22.
The government has said all pupils, in all year groups, in England will be expected to return to class full-time in September. Schools have already reopened in Scotland. Prof Whitty, who is also England's chief medical officer, said "many more [children] were likely to be harmed by not going than harmed by going" to school. "There's also very clear evidence from the UK and around the world that children much less commonly get a severe illness and end up having to be hospitalised if they get symptomatic Covid," he added.
His interview came as chief and deputy chief medical officers for all four UK nations said there were "no risk-free options" and it was important for parents and teachers to understand both the risks and benefits as schools reopen.
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Prof Whitty used his interview to highlight "overwhelming" evidence that in not going to school, children are more likely to have "mental and physical ill health in the long run". He added that the vast majority of children who died with the virus had "very serious" pre-existing health conditions. According to the Office for National Statistics' latest data on ages, there were 10 deaths recorded as "due to Covid-19" among those aged 19 and under in England and Wales between March and June - and 46,725 deaths among those aged 20 and over.
Prof Chris Whitty said "the chances of children dying from Covid-19 are incredibly small" - but missing lessons "damages children in the long run".
Millions of pupils in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are due to return to school within weeks.
Prof Whitty also said Covid-19 would be a challenge for at least nine months.
He said it was unlikely there would be a vaccine in 2020 but there was a "reasonable chance" of a successful jab being ready for the following winter in 2021-22.
The government has said all pupils, in all year groups, in England will be expected to return to class full-time in September. Schools have already reopened in Scotland.
Prof Whitty, who is also England's chief medical officer, said "many more [children] were likely to be harmed by not going than harmed by going" to school.
"There's also very clear evidence from the UK and around the world that children much less commonly get a severe illness and end up having to be hospitalised if they get symptomatic Covid," he added.
His interview came as chief and deputy chief medical officers for all four UK nations said there were "no risk-free options" and it was important for parents and teachers to understand both the risks and benefits as schools reopen.
...
Prof Whitty used his interview to highlight "overwhelming" evidence that in not going to school, children are more likely to have "mental and physical ill health in the long run".
He added that the vast majority of children who died with the virus had "very serious" pre-existing health conditions.
According to the Office for National Statistics' latest data on ages, there were 10 deaths recorded as "due to Covid-19" among those aged 19 and under in England and Wales between March and June - and 46,725 deaths among those aged 20 and over.
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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53875410