At-risk children aged five to 11 to be offered Covid vaccines

Children aged between five and 11 who are classed as at-risk, or live with someone who is classed as at-risk, will be offered Covid vaccines, Wales’ Health Minister has confirmed.

It comes after the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recommended children in this group are offered two doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

In a statement, Health Minister Eluned Morgan said “appropriate information” about the benefits and risks of vaccination will be made available to children, parents and guardians to make an informed decision on whether to take the vaccine.

Mrs Morgan said the NHS will begin identifying eligible five to 11-year-olds in the at-risk groups and begin offering them vaccine appointments in the New Year.

She said: “Our intention, as it has been from the start of the pandemic, is to follow the clinical and scientific evidence.”

The JCVI has not yet advised on whether children in this age group who are not classed as at-risk should be offered a vaccine.

Vaccinations for under-18s

The JCVI has recommended offering a COVID-19 booster dose to:

• Everyone aged 16 to 17-years-old
• Children and young people aged 12 to 15 who are in a clinical risk group or who are a household contact of someone who is immunosuppressed
• Children and young people aged 12 to 17 years who are severely immuno-compromised and who have had a third primary dose.