Nadhim Zahawi: Covid-19 vaccine for vulnerable young children to be rolled-out within weeks
Isobel Warner
Thursday, January 6, 2022
Vulnerable children between the ages of five and 11 could be offered a Covid-19 vaccine “by the middle of this month”, education secretary Nadhim Zahawi told MPs.
Before Christmas, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended that children classed as clinically vulnerable or those living with someone with a vulnerability should be offered two 10 microgram doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine - a smaller dose than is offered to adults and older children.
Speaking in the House of Commons yesterday (5 January), the education secretary confirmed that the roll-out of the jab was planned to begin by the middle of January, as primary school children returned to school following the Christmas break.
Northern Ireland has also joined the rest of the UK in offering vulnerable children the vaccine.
This announcement comes as coronavirus cases continue to sharply increase, with 194,747 cases confirmed yesterday.
An NHS spokesperson said: “As the NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme continues at pace, the NHS is now working to offer first doses to at-risk five- to 11-year-olds and those who are a household contact of someone with a weakened immune system, following recent JCVI advice. The NHS will contact this group to let them know when they can come forward for their jab.”
In the UK, there are around 300,000 children deemed to be at clinical risk from the virus or are living with someone who is immunosuppressed.
Charity Contact, which supports families of disabled children, praised the decision last month, saying: “After 22 months of endless shielding and isolation, parent carers are breathing a huge sigh of relief over yesterday’s news that their vulnerable children aged five to 11 can finally get the Covid vaccine.”