Coronavirus: Vaccination

(asked on 19th January 2022) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure covid-19 vaccines are available for children, whose parents make a request for such vaccinations.


Answered by
Maggie Throup Portrait
Maggie Throup
This question was answered on 27th January 2022

On 22 December 2021, the Government accepted advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) that children aged five to 11 years old who are in a clinical risk group or who are a household contact of someone who is immunosuppressed should be offered a primary course of COVID-19 vaccination. The National Health Service is preparing to deploy these vaccinations by the end of January 2022. Children and their parents or guardians will be contacted to arrange an appointment by the local NHS.

All 12 to 17 year olds are eligible for two doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. Parents or guardians can book an appointment through the NHS Booking Service or via walk-in centres across the country. This is in addition to the ongoing school-based offer for 12 to 15 year olds. Since 10 January 2022, children aged 12 to 15 years old are also being offered a second vaccine dose in their schools.

From 17 January 2022, the NHS has offered booster doses to eligible children and young people aged 12 to 17 years old. Primary care teams are inviting eligible 12 to 15 year olds who are clinically at-risk and those who are household contacts of someone who is immunosuppressed. Appointments are available via local booking systems, hospital hubs, general practitioners or primary care networks or through a home visit if the patient is housebound. All 16 to 17 year olds can book their booster vaccine through the National Booking Service. The JCVI keeps the emerging data on COVID-19 vaccination of children and young people under regular review.

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