EY: Babies and children under five to be offered Covid jab for the first time

Please see update which relates to vulnerable children, aged 6 months to 4 years.

• Children with underlying medical conditions are seven times more likely to be admitted to paediatric intensive care units.
• The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised that clinically vulnerable children aged six months to four years should be offered the jab.
• Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said that Covid-19 is still in circulation, with thousands of new cases reported every week.
• Parents are being warned that the virus is not going away and are encouraged to bring children forward, when they are contacted.
• The JCVI does not currently advise vaccination of children aged six months to four years if they are not in a vulnerable group.
• NHS England has confirmed it will begin offering vaccinations to those children eligible from mid-June.

Link: Children aged 6 months to 4 years in clinical risk groups to be offered COVID-19 vaccine, says JCVI - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)