NHS ready to expand Covid vaccines for children up to 5 years | Corona Virus

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NHS England officials said the health service is ready to quickly expand the availability of vaccines when and if experts’ recommendations for who should receive them change, after a report suggested plans to give Covid jab to children aged 5-11 could become a reality next year.

Covid-19 vaccines are only licensed in the UK for children aged 12 years or over, and any decision to extend them to children under 12 will be made by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

According to a report in The Sun, leaked proposals suggest health directors are preparing to roll out the vaccine to children ages 5 to 11 in the spring.

An unnamed source told The Sun that plans for who gets an injection could change, adding that asking parents for permission to vaccinate young children is “on the timeline”.

The Ministry of Health and Human Medicine said that vaccines will only be allowed for children in this age group if safety, quality and efficacy standards are met.

If the MHRA is to extend licensing for younger children, the Joint Committee on Vaccines and Immunization (JCVI) will advise the government on how to interpret such a change in guidance before vaccines are rolled out.

A company spokesperson said: “Extension of use of the Covid-19 vaccine to children aged 5 to 11 will only be allowed if expected safety, quality and efficacy standards are met. As with children aged 12 and over, parents can To be fully assured that for any potential release in this age group, the safety of children will be our top priority.”

Asked about the newspaper’s report, NHS England said: “The NHS is regularly planning how to activate the opening of vaccines to more people, so it is ready to extend the vaccine quickly when and if any decision is recommended by the JCVI.”

In the UK, children aged 12 to 15 have been eligible for a single dose of Covid-19 since September. The JCVI has not made recommendations for second punches for children in this age group who have not contracted the virus.

US health officials agreed to give a third of Pfizer’s regular Covid vaccine dose to 5- to 11-year-olds in early November, a move that means 28 million children in that age group will be eligible for a child-sized Covid dose.

Hong Kong agreed on Saturday to lower the age limit for the Covid-19 vaccine from China’s Sinovac Biotech to three years, down from 18.

This week, experts from the UK’s Health Security Agency said that children aged 12 and over who have contracted the virus should not get a vaccine until 12 weeks later.

Deferring the prick could help reduce the risk of “very, very small” heart infection after vaccination, experts said.

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