Information on the decision by the Minister for Health and Social Services to authorise the rollout of COVID-19 inoculations to 5 to 11 year old children in Wales.
Details
22 March 2022
Dear
Complaint in respect of ATISN 16086 – Vaccination of Children
I am responding to your email which was received on 10 March 2022 in which you asked us to review the response issued to your request for information under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act 2000. This letter is to inform you of the outcome.
In your original request dated 15 February 2022, you referred to the decision by the Minister for Health and Social Services to authorise the roll-out of the Covid 19 vaccinations to 5 to 11 year old children in Wales, and asked for the following:
- a copy of the evidence provided to the Minister regarding the safety and efficacy of the mRNA inoculations in 5 to 11 year old children.
In our response dated 9 March 2022, we provided a link to the Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation’s (JCVI) final advice about Covid-19 vaccination for children aged five to 11 who are not considered to be at clinical risk. This was the evidence to which the Minister referred in her statement.
In your email dated 9 March, you requested an internal review and stated that although the response letter provided hyperlinks to various documents, you were unable to locate the details of the clinical trials that were specifically involving 5 to 11 year old children.
I have reviewed our response to your FOI request in accordance with the procedure stated in my previous letter to you (dated 14 March). You asked for the evidence that was shared with the Minister to assist with her decision making regarding the introduction of the vaccinations for 5 to 11 year olds, and we provided this to you. In addition, we also gave you details of the three vaccines that are currently being used in the UK that have been authorised by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) following a review of safety, quality and efficacy information, along with links to their webpage regarding the clinical trials. The information you requested was provided, and I therefore do not uphold your complaint.
You have now requested information relating to clinical trials involving 5 to 11 year old children. This is a new request. We will deal with this separately under the Freedom of Information Act (ATISN 16151) and we will write to you in due course.
If you remain dissatisfied with this response you also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner at:
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
Tel: 01625 545 745
Fax: 01625 524 510
Also, if you think that there has been maladministration in dealing with your request, you have the option to make a complaint to the Public Services Ombudsman for Wales who can be contacted at:
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales
Public Services Ombudsman for Wales
1 Ffordd yr Hen Gae
Pencoed
Bridgend
CF35 5LJ
Telephone: 0845 6010987 (local rate)
Email: ask@ombudsman-wales.org.uk
Yours sincerely
Judith Paget CBE
9 March 2022
Dear
ATISN 16086 – Vaccination of Children
Thank you for your request to the Welsh Government for information under the Freedom of Information Act (2000) received on 15 February 2022. I have interpreted your request as follows:
Following the decision by the Minister for Health and Social Services to authorise the roll-out of experimental Covid 19 inoculations to 5 to 11 year old children in Wales:
- to provide a copy of the evidence provided to the Minister regarding the safety and efficacy of the experimental mRNA inoculations in 5 to 11 year old children.
Our Response
The Joint Committee for Vaccination and Immunisation’s (JCVI) final advice about Covid-19 vaccination for children aged five to 11 who are not considered to be at clinical risk is available on the following link. JCVI statement on vaccination of children aged 5 to 11 years old - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Three COVID-19 vaccines which are currently being used in the UK have been authorised for supply by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) following a thorough review of safety, quality and efficacy information from clinical trials. In clinical trials, the vaccines showed very high levels of protection against symptomatic infections with COVID-19. Data are available on the impact of the vaccination campaign in reducing infections and illness in the UK.
Next Steps
If you are dissatisfied with the Welsh Government’s handling of your request, you can ask for an internal review within 40 working days of the date of this response. Requests for an internal review should be addressed to the Welsh Government’s Freedom of Information Officer at:
Information Rights Unit,
Welsh Government,
Cathays Park,
Cardiff,
CF10 3NQ
or Email: Freedom.ofinformation@gov.wales
Please remember to quote the ATISN reference number above.
You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:
Information Commissioner’s Office,
Wycliffe House,
Water Lane,
Wilmslow,
Cheshire,
SK9 5AF
However, please note that the Commissioner will not normally investigate a complaint until it has been through our own internal review process.
Yours sincerely