Wales is first UK nation to offer Covid jabs to all 5-11 year-olds

Wales has become the first country in the UK to announce it will be offering the Covid-19 vaccine to all five to 11-year-olds.

Wales' health minister Eluned Morgan said she had read a "yet to be published" report by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and would be further rolling out the jab.

She said some children in the age group had already been vaccinated:

“Children in this age group who are classed as being at clinical risk are already being offered the vaccine and more than one in four have already taken up the offer of vaccination. “

She went on to say parents should “begin a conversation” about whether to take up the jab offer for their younger children:

“I would encourage all families with children between the ages of five and 11, who are not in any clinical at risk groups, to visit the Public Health Wales website for information about vaccination and to begin a conversation about whether they want to take up this offer.

“We will be publishing an update of our Vaccination Strategy next week, which will set out further detail about the offer, once the JCVI advice is published.

“Vaccination is the most important thing we can do to protect ourselves and our children against ill health. They prevent up to three million deaths worldwide every year.”

The minister has not set out a timetable for when youngsters will be able to get the jab and will be speaking to Health Boards.