England's top medic has warned that almost all unvaccinated children will become infected with Covid at some point in the future.
Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, said the Delta variant's transmissibility means all school pupils will come into contact with the virus.
He told MPs the benefits of vaccination for each individual child outweigh the harms and 'categorically' denied the decision extend the rollout to over-12s was a political move on his or other medical adviser's parts.
Professor Whitty said: 'The great majority of children who have not currently had Covid are going to get it at some point.
'It won't be necessary in the next two or three months but they will get it sooner or later because this is incredibly infectious. Vaccination will reduce that risk.'
He added that he through around half of children are likely to have already had the virus but that does not necessarily mean they are fully immune.
It comes after Tory MPs yesterday slammed the Government for 'undermining' the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) — the independent body advising the Government on vaccine policy — by pushing through jabs for children.
They argued bringing in the measure now was 'peverse' because Britain is 'through the worst of the pandemic'.
But speaking at an education select committee today, Professor Whitty said vaccines in 12- to 15-year-olds will be vital in stemming the current surge in cases in the age group after their return to schools.
Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, said the Delta variant's transmissibility means all school pupils will come into contact with the virus
Lauren McLean, 15, from Newcastle, receives the Pfizer vaccine at the Excelsior Academy today in Newcastle upon Tyne
He said: 'There is definitely substantial transmission happening in this age group.
'In fact, the age group we're talking about is the one in which the highest rate of transmission is currently occurring, as far as we can tell.'
Professor Whitty said that the recommendation focused purely on the benefit to children aged between 12 and 15, and had not been made for political reasons or for the benefit of more vulnerable adults.
He added that while the vaccination programme would cause some disruption to schools, it would be outweighed by the likely disruption caused if children caught Covid.
England's chief
