But other scientists disagree. Firstly, the clinical trials on under 12s completed so far have found no cases of myocarditis – and Dr Ward says studies show the risk ‘diminishes’ under the age of 16. Dr English says: ‘The risk of getting myocarditis from Covid is far greater than the risk of getting it after vaccination.’ Experts say the Government’s scientific advisers are also relying on ‘outdated’ evidence about the benefits of vaccination in terms of slowing spread of the virus into the wider community. Early on in the pandemic, the prevailing view among scientists – based on Chinese studies – was that few young children caught Covid, and even fewer passed it on. But the Delta variant has changed the picture dramatically. Dr David Strain, Covid expert at the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Foundation Trust, says the appearance of this highly contagious mutation has turned children into ‘viral reservoirs’. He says: ‘We are starting to see a pattern that suggests the virus is spreading from schools into the community. In the hospital, we are seeing more and more cases of parents and grandparents coming in who have been isolating from the world, and the only social contact they have had is young family members.’ It’s not the first time the JCVI has ignored the community-wide benefit of jabbing young people. It came to a similar conclusion with children aged 12 to 15, advising that the ‘margin of benefit’ for vaccinating adolescents was ‘too small’ for it to support the rollout. This decision was later overruled by Prof Chris Whitty, England’s Chief Medical Officer, on the basis that vaccinated teens would be less likely to catch Covid and then have to isolate, and this would benefit their mental health, education and social development. Dr English says: ‘The JCVI has insisted on not looking at the risk of children passing the virus to parents, or the risk of long Covid. This isn’t a typical approach to vaccines. We offer young children a flu jab not to protect themselves, but to protect vulnerable adults around them who they could pass it on to.’ University of Cambridge data published last week offered one possible argument against jabbing children: three-quarters of five to 14-year-olds have already had Covid and will be somewhat protected. Prof Finn said: ‘It’s possible that so many children will end up infected that cases will begin to go down because of the wall of immunity built up.’ But Prof Ward says there is not yet enough data to show if immunity from natural infection can match that of vaccines or last as long. ‘We aren’t yet sure how robust natural immunity is – so it makes sense to top it up with a vaccine just in case.’ Dr Finn said it was likely that the JCVI would take a similar approach to how it handled approving the vaccines for pregnant women, waiting for real-world data to arrive from the US before making a decision. ‘You have to go a bit carefully with this kind of call,’ he says. But other scientists say this has the potential to backfire – as it did in pregnant women. They have been among the most reluctant to have the vaccine, said to be due to mixed Government messages about how safe it was for them. UK vaccine chiefs waited until data on 130,000 vaccinated pregnant women in the US was published before giving it the green light, leading to continued hesitancy. Currently, a fifth of the most critically ill Covid patients in hospitals in England since July are unvaccinated pregnant women. Parents may be similarly hesitant and read the JCVI’s caution as a sign that there’s something to worry about. Simon Jones, 41, father to Dylan, ten, and Rory, eight, seems to think so. Rory tested positive for Covid recently, having come home from school with a cough. The family have all, so far, tested negative. However, they feel extremely cautious. ‘You hear about inaccurate results. We don’t want to be the ones who give Covid to everyone else, so we’re isolating,’ says Simon. Currently, a fifth of the most critically ill Covid patients in hospitals in England since July are unvaccinated pregnant women (file photo) +4 Currently, a fifth of the most critically ill Covid patients in hospitals in England since July are unvaccinated pregnant women (file photo) COVID FACT The US and Canada are expected to soon approve vaccines for under-12s, while United Arab Emirates and China have already done so. Would he have the boys vaccinated if it meant an end to situations like this? ‘No,’ is the instant response from the advertising sales executive, who lives with his partner in East London. ‘Well, I just don’t know about it – you hear about the risks. I’d need to know more before I said yes.’ According to a survey carried out in June, a third of parents of children aged six to 12 say they would be unlikely to get their child vaccinated if a jab was made available. More than half of parents who said they were unlikely to vaccinate their children said they were worried about long-term effects. One in five said they would wait to see how well the vaccines work on other children. Poor vaccine take-up is already a problem in adolescents. Only 17 per cent of children aged 12 to 15 have come forward for their jab. Experts say some of this is due to hesitancy among parents, which may have been avoided had it not been for ‘mixed messaging’ about safety. Prof Iain Buchan, public health expert at the University of Liverpool, said the situation has been worsened by the ‘pandemic of misinformation’ online. Prof Buchan, who has helped co-ordinate the rollout of vaccines in Liverpool schools, said: ‘We’re seeing rising numbers of anti-vax protesters outside schools and death threats sent to vaccinators. This could in part be responsible for the lumpy take-up in some parts of the country.’ Despite authoring the Lancet study arguing the clear benefit to vaccinating five to 11-year-olds, Dr Strain says he understands why parents would be hesitant. ‘Yes, the vaccines are proven to be safe, but I have young children and would like to see some more data before I get them vaccinated.’ Fran Simpson, however, says she would ‘go for it immediately’ if Magnus was offered a jab. ‘If there’s anything we can do the bring down the number of infections in schools, we should do it,’ she says. Fran also believes it is important to vaccinate children to protect them from long Covid, after Saskia developed the condition last year. She suffered from severe fatigue and breathing difficulties for months, and still suffers occasional flare-ups. As a result, Fran helped found the charity Long Covid Kids, which supports families. She says: ‘You hear people say the risk to children is small, but I’ve seen first-hand the impact this disease can have on them.’
Flying taxis are set to shuttle passengers from Heathrow to cities in the South of England for the price of an Uber cab in just four years’ time, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Passengers arriving at Heathrow could take an electric air ‘taxi’ to London’s Canary Wharf in just 13 minutes for about £50 per passenger. A Uber journey costs £46.
An air taxi from Heathrow to Cambridge would take 28 minutes and cost £58, compared with £102 for a 90-minute taxi or £52 for a two-hour train journey.
HIGH HOPES: Vertical Aerospace’s battery-powered electric VA-X4 aircraft could revolutionise the transport network
The ambitious project is being masterminded by Bristol firm Vertical Aerospace in partnership with the Virgin Atlantic airline and Heathrow.
Vertical Aerospace boss Stephen Fitzpatrick, who previously founded energy supplier Ovo, said he plans to revolutionise Britain’s transport network. The company estimates that air taxis produce lower carbon emissions per mile than petrol cars or electric vehicles.
In what Mr Fitzpatrick described as a ‘major milestone’ for electric flights, Vertical Aerospace has agreed a partnership with Heathrow to help launch the first air taxi flights by 2025.Heathrow is exploring how Vertical’s electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft could fit into its airlines’ flight schedules and help ease congestion on surrounding roads. Vertical’s four-seater VA-X4 aircraft will shuttle passengers to cities including Oxford, Bristol and Southampton.
The air taxis will be operated by Virgin Atlantic, which has ordered up to 150 of the battery-powered planes and is in talks to launch a Virgin-branded network of electric aircraft from Heathrow, Manchester and Gatwick. Other airlines are expected to follow as they look to cut carbon emissions.
As well as airport shuttles, Vertical plans to launch regional air routes opening up new connections across the UK, including Belfast to Glasgow, Liverpool to Hull and Aberdeen to Edinburgh.
Its planes can travel more than 100 miles before recharging their lithium-ion batteries and have top speeds of 200mph, making flights about three times quicker than car journeys and five times faster than the train.
The air taxis will take off and land at ‘vertiports’ which could be based at airports, rural airfields, motorway service stations or on the rooftops of train stations and office buildings. Pictured, air travelers queue at border control at Heathrow Airport
Company documents show the expected fare for a 50-minute trip from Liverpool to Hull is £112 and a 41-minute flight from Cardiff to Plymouth would cost £89.
The electric planes will produce about 5kg of carbon per passenger on a 90-mile flight, compared with 11kg for an electric vehicle and 38kg for petrol cars.
The air taxis will take off and land at ‘vertiports’ which could be based at airports, rural airfields, motorway service stations or on the rooftops of train stations and office buildings. Inner-city sites could be used for short-distance ‘air taxi’ services, hailed by using an app.
Mr Fitzpatrick said: ‘This new generation aircraft bridges the gap between communities separated by inconvenient public transport or impassable terrain. Because, unlike helicopters, they are safe, clean and quiet, they will deliver huge benefits for densely populated cities too – more convenience and less congestion.’
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