England schoolchildren aged 12-15 yrs to be offered Covid vax 1st dose

London: Schoolchildren aged between 12 and 15 years will be offered a first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine starting next week, the UK government has announced after the country's Chief Medical Officers gave their go-ahead for the jabs for younger age groups.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said on Monday evening that ministers have accepted the advice of the four UK Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) and the National Health Service (NHS) is now preparing to deliver a schools-based vaccination programme.

This will be based on what the NHS says is their "successful model" used for vaccinations including for HPV and Diphtheria, Tetanus and Polio (DTP), supported by general practitioners (GPs) and community pharmacies.

I have accepted the recommendation from the Chief Medical Officers to expand vaccination to those aged 12 to 15 protecting young people from catching COVID-19, reducing transmission in schools and keeping pupils in the classroom, said UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid. I am very grateful for the expert advice I have received from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and UK Chief Medical Officers. Our outstanding NHS stands ready to move forward with rolling out the vaccine to this group with the same sense of urgency we've had at every point in our vaccination programme, he said.

Parental, guardian or carer consent will be sought by vaccination healthcare staff prior to vaccination in line with existing school vaccination

programmes.