The United Kingdom has started rolling out Covid-19 vaccines for school children in the age groups of 12-15 from September 21 as part of the expansion of its ongoing vaccination drive. Around 30 lakh children are eligible in this age group to receive the jabs.
As the government accepted the recommendations of the UK’s Chief Medical Officer last week the children will be administered one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. In a recent report, Pfizer and BioNTech had announced positive topline results from pivotal trials of Covid-19 vaccine in children.
The UK Health Minister Sajid Javid while informing about the expansion of the vaccination drive said, “It is a moment of happiness to see children in the age groups of 12 to 15 getting vaccinated from today. The government is fulfilling its promise to protect children from Covid-19 and minimizing obstacles in the way of their education.”
“The vaccination has played an important role in reducing the Covid-19 infection rate among people. The vaccine has met all the safety and effective norms of our reputed medical regulator for 12-year children and above.” He added.
According to reports, England and Scotland have started the vaccination in their schools from this week whereas the vaccination in Wales and Northern Ireland will start from next week. According to the United Kingdom National Health Service (NHS) the vaccination will start in hundreds of schools this week.
