A separate advisory body for Scotland could have led to children being vaccinated against Covid-19 earlier, public health expert Professor Devi Sridhar has said.
Prof Sridhar said she was “frustrated” by the delay from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to advise vaccination for 12 to 15-year-olds.
The Edinburgh University academic said the UK-wide committee did not feel the same urgency as experts in Scotland did last summer due to the difference in school term times.
She suggested a separate Scottish version of the JCVI could make better decisions in future.
Prof Sridhar spoke to Scotland on Sunday ahead of the launch of her new book, titled Preventable: How A Pandemic Changed The World & How To Stop The Next One.
She said: “Science is a reserved issue, and JCVI, the committee that decides on this, is based out of London. It’s a UK-wide committee, and you can’t really overrule it.”
She said that while devolved governments could have begun vaccinating children earlier, they did not have enough expert advice to allow them to do so.
Prof Sridhar added: “I think what you would have had to have is a Scottish version of JCVI, which would have allowed them to advise ministers to vaccinate.”
The JCVI issued its updated advice for 12 to 15-year-olds in September.
Prof Sridhar continued: “You need structures that understand the local context, whether it’s the local hospitals, the local NHS, the local school systems, and those responsive to it.
“It could be a Scottish JCVI or it could be more Scottish experts on JCVI, so they understand.”
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