From tomorrow, health teams will visit more than 800 schools to offer the vaccine to children aged between 12 and 15 year-olds. Health Secretary Sajid Javid commented that this vaccination drive is necessary to keep the classroom open by helping prevent Covid outbreaks in schools. BBC News has the story.
More than 600,000 children have been vaccinated since the rollout was extended last month, NHS England said.
Some 163,000 received a jab in the last week after the national booking system was opened up those eligible under 16 years-old.
Last month, the UK’s Chief Medical Officers recommended that children aged between 12 to 15 years-old be offered one dose of a Covid vaccine.
The NHS began the rollout in England on September 20th.
Efforts to vaccinate pupils as many return to the classroom from the half-term break comes as cases in England remain high.
Home Secretary Sajid Javid said: “The vaccines are safe and will help keep children in the classroom – I encourage everyone to come forward for their jab to protect themselves and the people around them.”
Children can alternatively make an appointment via the national booking system to visit a vaccination centre.
Some 140,000 children have made appointments to book their vaccine over the next few weeks, NHS England said.
Professor Adam Finn, a paediatrician who is a member of the UK vaccine expert group the JCVI, said vaccinating teenagers would “minimise the chance of disruption to education, which is really the major harm that the pandemic has done to our children”.
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