Vulnerable under-15s to be offered Covid vaccine
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has been approved for children aged 12 and over
Last updated 19th Jul 2021
Children aged between 12 and 15 who are medically vulnerable in England will be offered coronavirus vaccines.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised that vulnerable young people at greatest risk from Covid-19 should get the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said he had accepted the advice, which has ruled out mass vaccination of healthy children for now.
Which 12-15-year-olds will get a vaccine?
The move means thousands of children in the UK aged 12 to 15 with the following conditions can access the vaccine: severe neuro-disabilities, Down’s syndrome, immunosuppression, multiple or severe learning disabilities.
Other conditions, including type 1 diabetes, are not currently included in the list.
Under existing guidance, young people aged 16 to 17 with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious Covid should have already been offered a jab.
The JCVI has also said those aged 12 to 17 who live with an immunosuppressed person, such as a parent or grandparent, should be offered a Covid vaccine.
Which Covid jab will under 15s receive?
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi told the Commons:
“As we do this we will be using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, which is the only vaccine in the UK that has been clinically authorised for people between the ages of 12 and 17.
“I know that people will have questions about what it means for them and their children, but I can assure them that nobody needs to come forward at this stage. The NHS will get in touch with them at the right time and they will make sure that the jabs are delivered in a setting that meets their complex needs.”
NHS asked to prepare vaccines for new age groups
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said:
“I have asked the NHS to prepare to vaccinate those eligible as soon as possible.
“Young people aged 12 to 15 with severe neuro-disabilities, Down’s Syndrome, immunosuppression and multiple or severe learning disabilities, as well as people who are household contacts of individuals who are immunosuppressed, will be eligible for vaccination soon.
“Our independent medicines regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, has approved the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine for people aged 12 and over as it meets their robust standards of safety, effectiveness and quality.
“Today’s advice does not recommend vaccinating under-18s without underlying health conditions at this point in time. But the JCVI will continue to review new data, and consider whether to recommend vaccinating under-18s without underlying health conditions at a future date.
Meet the people giving us our vaccines
David Atherton won the Bake Off in 2019. He's now serving up vaccines in London
Elvis impersonator Dr Andy Mason vaccinated two of his backing singers, who also happen to be his daughters
Drag Race star Cherry Valentine has been part of the Vaccination programme in Lancashire (presumably not wearing those nails!)
Edgar Woodhead, on the left in his "normal" role as an airline pilot, and on the right, as a vaccinator in Ilkley, Yorkshire