All UK children aged 12 and over are set to be offered one dose of the Covid vaccine after advisors approved the jab for all young people.
The UK’s four Chief Medical Officers today recommended a “universal” rollout of the Pfizer vaccine for young people aged 12-15-after deciding that it will help to prevent chaos in schools over the winter.
It is expected that parents will be asked to give consent before their child is vaccinated.
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The Chief Medical Officers are set to host a press conference later today to further explain the decision.
The Joint Committee for Vaccinations and Immunisation (JCVI) had previously said they would not be recommending the jab for all 12-15-as they believed that the health benefit was only marginal, and they could only give advice based on the health impact.
The JCVI will now be asked to give further advice on whether young people should receive a second dose, but this advice is not expected before Christmas.
Previously, only immunocompromised people aged 12-15, or those living with extreme clinically vulnerable people, had been offered the vaccine.
The Government are expected to accept the advice shortly, and a rollout of vaccines will be undertaken as soon as possible.
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The advice from the Chief Medical Officers differs from the advice given 10 days ago by the JCVI as they have considered the potential for disruption to the current school year that a potential rise in Covid cases in young people would bring.
They found that mass vaccination of over-12s will “likely” reduce Covid outbreaks in schools, cutting the odds of the academic year being disrupted.
Sources have insisted that there is no split between the JCVI and CMOs, instead stating that the Chief Medical Officers have been able to make their recommendation based on a broader amount of factors.
The announcement comes as Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces that a booster jab rollout had been “already approved” ahead of his statement on winter Covid plans tomorrow.
The Prime Minister will hail boosters and jabs for 12-15s as key planks in a winter 'toolkit' of options and possible restrictions to keep the virus at bay.
