Government vaccine advisors are recommending that healthy children aged 12-15 do not receive the Covid vaccine.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said it backed widening the so-far limited rollout to more children in this age bracket who have underlying health conditions.

But it is not recommending mass vaccination of children aged between 12 and 15.

The programme is being extended to children considered most at-risk — including those with chronic major heart, lung, kidney, liver and neurological conditions.

It means about 200,000 more children will be invited for vaccines.

The decision comes exactly a week after the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) confirmed preparations were under way to ensure the NHS was ready to offer coronavirus jabs to all 12 to 15-year-olds in England from early September.

The department said they wanted to be “ready to hit the ground running”.