UK medical officers give nod for Covid-19 vaccines for children

Children aged 12 to 15 should be offered a COVID vaccine, the UK’s chief medical officers (CMOs) have decided on Monday.

The medical officers said their recommendation to the government was made after considering “what effect this will have on transmission in schools and effects on education”.

“It’s a useful tool to reduce the disruption,” they said.

According to the decision, healthy children should be offered a single dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine and the rollout should begin “as soon as possible”.

The move means around 3 million children could be eligible for the jab, which is expected to be given through schools.

It follows the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) decision against such a rollout purely on health grounds, leaving the final call in the hands of the CMOs after considering wider implications.