[4] Petitioner had contacted Nicola Sturgeon during her time as Health Minister, and nine years later had decided to petition as a last resort for his proposal to form a body "similar if not the same as Norway's model".
Its recommendations, as accepted by the secretaries of state, are published in "Immunisation against infectious diseases", commonly referred to as The Green Book which provides guidance to clinicians,[1] and also through other routes as necessary (e.g., the Chief Medical Officer letters).
[7] The chair of the COVID-19 subcommittee is Wei Shen Lim, a consultant respiratory physician and honorary professor of medicine at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust.
After the start of the mass MMR immunisation programme, additional evidence that the strain was linked with viral meningitis surfaced in a number of countries, and by 1990, many had withdrawn products containing it.
[13] In late 2000, Andrew Wakefield published what he said were his concerns in the journal Adverse Drug Reactions and Toxicological Reviews, based on his interpretation of early studies of MMR — none of which were actually critical of the vaccine.
[14] In 2010, Wakefield was struck off by the General Medical Council for fabrication of results and failure to declare a financial interest in the importation of single strain vaccines.
[15] As is the case in the United States and many other countries, the mercury-based additive thimerosal, previously thought necessary for multi-dose vials of vaccines such as the DPT shot, has largely been phased out.
[20] The next day in a press conference, the JCVI stated that it "believes healthy young people aged 18 to 29 should be offered the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccines instead of the AstraZeneca jab" because of the risk of CVST blood clots.
[21] The press conference was offered by the "chair of the JCVI" (sic) Wei Shen, who said "every country has to take their own decision based on their own population, the scale of the pandemic, the values of its people and the quantity of vaccines."
"[22] The updated advice from the JCVI was published on 13 April 2021, stating "it is preferable for adults aged 18 to 29 years without underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of severe COVID-19 disease, to be offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, if available".
Lower age limits were adjusted: six months for clinical risk groups, 12 for household contacts of people with immunosuppression, and 16 for carers and care home staff.
[39][40] Around July 2021, some medical commentators raised concerns that the committee had not taken into account all risks to children, particularly long COVID, and pointed out that other countries – including the United States – were already vaccinating everyone aged 12 and over.