When will children be vaccinated in Ireland? Full details as countries grant approval

Taoiseach Micheal Martin has said the government is considering the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines for children aged 5 to 12 early next year.

Ireland is currently vaccinating all aged upwards of 12 and has begun the booster vaccination programme, which is being administered to people aged over 50 and those aged over 16 with an underlying health condition.

However, as Covid cases surge across Europe, officials have come under pressure to decide on the approval of vaccines for ages 5 to 11.

Many other countries across the world have already begun vaccinating children aged as young as three.

A child receives a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at an elementary school vaccination site for children ages 5 to 11-year-old in Miami, Florida, U.S., on Monday, Nov. 22, 2021. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed legislation that would restrict Covid vaccine mandates by employers. (gettyimages.ie)

Here is a look at what other countries are doing:

Israel

Israel has begun vaccinating children aged 5 to 11 as it continues the rollout of its vaccination programme.

The country has made the decision in the hopes of preventing another wave of Covid-19.

Israel became one of the first countries to introduce booster vaccines after an upsurge in cases caused by the Delta variant.

The US

The United States of America has also approved the use of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for children aged 5 to 11.

The vaccine was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Canada

Shortly after the US approved the vaccine for younger children, Canada followed suit.

The country has also begun vaccinating 5 to 11-year-olds.

China

The Sinovac vaccine has been approved for children as young as three in China.

Chile

Chile also approved the Sinovac vaccine for children aged above six.

Europe

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) is currently considering data submitted by Pfizer to approve the vaccine for children aged 5 to 11.

The data has shown that the Pfizer vaccine is more than 90% effective in preventing children aged 5 to 11 from Covid-19.

A decision on approval is expected in the coming weeks.

Following a decision by the EMA, the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac) will conduct its own review of the data.

After this, Niac will make a recommendation to the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, and it will be brought before Cabinet for approval.

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