What was claimed
Young people are not at risk from Covid-19 at all.
Our verdict
Incorrect. Both children and young adults face a very low risk of death or serious illness if they catch Covid-19.
Young people do face a small risk from Covid
21 July 2021
Youngsters are not at risk from this disease at all.
During a conversation about nightclub rules on the BBC radio programme World at One, the Conservative MP Sir Charles Walker said that young people are not at risk from Covid-19.
This is not true.
Although the risks of Covid-19 to young people are very low, it is not right to say that they face no risk at all.
In England and Wales, since the pandemic started, 237 people under the age of 30 have died with Covid mentioned on their death certificates as either an underlying or contributory cause.
Within this group, the risk is higher among those old enough to go to nightclubs.
A small number of young people also become seriously ill with Covid, even if they do not die. The latest data from England, Wales and Northern Ireland suggests that since September about 2.9% of hospital patients critically ill with Covid were younger than 30.
There also appears to be a risk of ‘long Covid’, when symptoms last for a long time, although the size of this risk is currently difficult to quantify.