The UK government's independent advisory body on vaccines has said it would not recommend jabbing all 12- to 15-year-olds against coronavirus, arguing the benefits were “too small”.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), a panel of experts that advises ministers, has been weighing the issue after numerous other countries began giving the jabs to young teens.

On the advice of the JCVI, Britain's four chief medical officers — in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland — will now provide further input ahead of a final government decision, according to Reuters.

The committee, which focuses purely on health effects, wants them to consider the “wider societal impacts, including educational benefits” of whether to roll out vaccines to younger teens.