Thousands of Wiltshire 12 to 15 year olds to be offered Covid vaccine at school
Children will need to have the consent of their parents
Last updated 16th Sep 2021
12 to 15 year olds in Wiltshire will be offered the coronavirus vaccine with the first jabs expected to be given in the coming days.
The CCG which covers the county as well as Bath and North East Somerset says more than 45,000 youngsters are eligible.
England’s Chief Medical Officers, led by Prof Chris Whitty, announced the move earlier this week.
Children will need to have the consent of their parents to receive the vaccine, which will be administered by teams from Virgin Care’s Immunisation Service team at all schools across the region.
Pupils will also get their flu vaccine, given in the form of a nasal spray, at the same time as their coronavirus jab.
Gill May, Director of Nursing and Quality, said:
“We have been expecting this announcement for some time and, in readiness, have been working closely with our colleagues at Virgin Care to plan this next phase of the vaccination programme."
“Virgin will visit all schools across the region over the coming weeks, and will work with both teaching staff and parents to ensure the process of offering the vaccine to as many eligible young people as possible is carried out in a safe and timely manner. "
“Since December, more than 1.3 million Covid-19 vaccines have been given out across our region, and we know that in doing so we have helped to save countless lives and reduce the spread of infection.
“Aside from offering protection against coronavirus, giving the vaccine to this age group will help to stop our young people’s time at school from being disrupted, which in turn will support long-term wellbeing and mental health.”
REASSURANCE OVER CONSENT
The vaccination team will not administer a vaccine where there is any disagreement between the child and parent around consent, nor will the team vaccinate if both parent and child have refused consent.
Parents and children who are undecided will be able to chat through their concerns with health teams and, if appropriate, arrange a catch-up vaccination appointment.
Val Scrase, Managing Director, Virgin Care in BSW, said:
“We already work with local schools to deliver the very successful school immunisation programme within schools safely and efficiently, and we’ll be contacting parents directly via their school in the coming days."
“As with all vaccines, ensuring proper consent from parent and child is very important and so we’ll be continuing to use our tried-and-tested electronic consent system, allowing parents to make an informed decision confident in the knowledge our vaccination team has their decision available on the day and will act accordingly."
BOOSTER VACCINES FOR OTHER GROUPS
Elsewhere, it has been announced that booster vaccines are to be made available for care home residents, health and social care workers, people aged over 50, those aged 16 to 49-years-old with underlying health conditions, adult carers, and adult household contacts of immunosuppressed individuals.
People eligible for a booster vaccination will be contacted directly by the NHS approximately six months after their last Covid-19 vaccine was given, with those who received their second dose early at four weeks being called first.
Coronavirus vaccines are still available for any person in need of a first or second dose, with many vaccination clinics across the region offering jabs on a walk-in basis including Salisbury City Hall.
You can find details of your nearest walk in vaccination clinic here: www.nhs.uk