AN MP spoke of his ‘alarm’ over a Covid-19 vaccine trial in Bradford that involves children.

Philip Davies, Conservative MP for Shipley, made the remarks during a debate on the Covid-19 Vaccine Damage Payments Bill.

Speaking in Parliament, he said he was “rather alarmed to hear of a clinical trial for a Moderna mRNA Covid vaccine involving healthy children aged 12 and up”.

The MP told the Commons: “That is not something from the past, from during the pandemic; it is happening now.

“It has been approved by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency and involves the Bradford Patient Recruitment Centre, which is on the edge of my constituency, so some of my constituents could be involved."

The Bradford Patient Recruitment Centre is based at the Institute for Health Research, in the grounds of Bradford Royal Infirmary.

Mr Davies added: “I wrote to the Health Research Authority in August to ask what ethical rationale there is for the inclusion of healthy children in the trial, because it is known, and has been for a long time, that healthy children are at a vanishingly low risk of Covid-19—they were at the height of the pandemic and they certainly are now.

“So far, I have not received a coherent answer to that simple question.”

He claimed the centre has been recruiting children for the trial “using advertisements that have not been ethically approved, as is required by UK law”.

Mr Davies added: “Children can be recruited to a clinical trial only if they as individuals have some reasonable expectation of significant benefit when balanced with the risks associated with their participation.

“Potential benefits for adults that may flow from a trial are not a good enough rationale and do not trump that principle.”

He questioned: “So, given that there cannot be any expectation of significant benefits for a cohort of people who are not at significant risk, what is going on here? Why are those decisions being made?”

Health minister Maria Caulfield told the MP: “I worked in clinical trials before I came into this place, and there are strict rules about posters advertising clinical trials, particularly for children. 

“I do not know the details of the particular trial he is talking about, but if he has concerns about how it is being recruited to, that is a matter for the MHRA.

“I suggest that he contacts the MHRA, or I would be happy to discuss it with him after the debate.”

As part of the debate, Mr Davies also called for people who have been injured by the vaccine to be compensated immediately.

Touching on points made during the debate, Ms Caufield: "I am happy to go on record and say that although Covid vaccines have saved tens of thousands of lives, unfortunately there have been extremely rare circumstance where individuals have, very sadly, experienced harm and difficult circumstances, following a Covid vaccination.

"Thankfully, such cases remain rare, but that does not reduce the impact on those individuals who experienced that and their families. I am sure the whole House will join me in expressing concern for those individuals who suffered such harm, and their families."

She added: "Vaccination remains the best way for individuals to protect themselves and others from the impact of Covid-19.

"We have done the right thing by encouraging people to have the vaccine, to protect both themselves and other more vulnerable members of society."