Covid vaccine: 16 and 17-year-olds to be offered jab
- Published
All 16 and 17-year-olds in the UK are to be offered their first dose of the Covid vaccine within weeks, after a recommendation from vaccine experts.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises the government on who should get the vaccine.
The change in guidance means around 1.4 million teenagers will be offered the jab.
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have all said they accept the JVCI's advice and will begin to roll it out over coming weeks.
Prof Jonathan Van-Tam, England's deputy chief medical officer, said: "We have the supply and I'm expecting this to start in a very short number of weeks indeed."
"There is no time to waste in getting on with this," he said, highlighting teenagers are returning to sixth forms and colleges soon. "I want us to proceed as fast as is practically possible."
Further advice on when to offer the second dose will come later, the JCVI said.
Which children can currently get the jab?
Up until now, children over 12 are able to get a jab if they have certain health conditions, live with others who are at a high risk or are nearing their 18th birthday.
The only jab that has been approved in the UK for under-18s is the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is an independent group that advise the government on health and vaccines in the UK.
Ministers in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all take on board their recommendations and then approve the plans.
There have been arguments both for and against children getting the vaccine
The JCVI has said it will study the data on whether to roll out jabs to children over the age of 12, but it is a decision they say they "prefer not to make at this point".
Across England, 223,755 under-18s have received a first vaccine dose, according to NHS data to 25 July.
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