The Chair of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee has given an update on vaccines for young people ahead of the upcoming rollout of jabs for 12 to 15-year-olds.
Professor Karina Butler explained the reasoning behind the recommendation for injections for children in this cohort and urged certain youngsters to avail of the jab.
The Minister for Health confirmed last week that, based on advice received by the Chief Medical Officer from NIAC, those aged 12 to 15 years will be offered an mRNA vaccine to protect themselves from Covid-19.
Stephen Donnelly said that support for parents and young people will be made available to help them make the best decision for them when it comes to getting the vaccine.
The NIAC advice recommends that all those aged 12 to 15 years should be offered an mRNA vaccine.
It also strongly encourages those in that age cohort with underlying medical conditions, those living with a younger child with complex medical needs, or with an immunocompromised adult, to accept vaccination as soon as it is offered.
Speaking today, Professor Butler provided some further details on these recommendations.
"NIAC has recommended that the Covid-19 vaccines be made available for children aged 12 to 15 years of age," she said.
"The reasons we have made these recommendations is to protect children from the very mild infections of Covid and from the very rare complications of Covid that can affect even healthy children rarely.
"We would absolutely encourage those who have underlying medical conditions that put them at higher risk of Covid to avail of the vaccine as soon as it is offered.
"We would also strongly encourage parents of children who are living in households with anyone else who is vulnerable, either a younger child with an underlying health condition, or perhaps an older adult who might not have responded as well to the vaccine for example, if they had an immune-com[promised condition, to avail of the vaccine as soon as they can."
She added: "The reason we have made these recommendations are to protect children from frequent mild infection, but most children do get over that very well.
"Some children, mainly those with underlying conditions, can end up seriously ill.
"But there are also other complications from this infection. Some children get a rare inflammatory condition, sometimes four to six weeks following infection.
"And hopefully these vaccines will help to prevent that."
In a further message, also communicated in a video message on Twitter, Professor Butler offered some advice for parents and added that she can understand why they may not be in a hurry to get their child inoculated.
"I can understand why parents might be hesitant because this is a novel vaccine," she said.
"But we're also dealing with a novel infection that we know can have consequences for children
"Now, it is rare that children would end up seriously ill on holiday. But we also know that some children can develop an inflammatory syndrome after it."
Professor Butler added: "And we know that for some children, they can get long Covid and their health doesn't return to normal for weeks to months.
"So for all those reasons, and also for the wider benefits to children, in terms of normalisation of life, we believe the benefits outweigh the risks, and thus we have recommended that the vaccine be made available for those aged 12 to 15 years of age."
