Secondary school students to get dose of Pfizer jab in September
Children are reportedly to receive a dose of the Pfizer jab when they return to school in September - Credit: PA
Secondary school students will be offered Covid-19 vaccinations under plans being developed by the NHS, it has been reported.
Health officials are said to be considering a measure to offer a single dose of the Pfizer jab to children aged 12 and older when the new school year starts.
Pfizer said trials of its vaccine in children aged 12 to 15 showed 100pc efficacy and a strong immune response.
The plans are contingent on advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) due this summer.
Committee member Professor Adam Finn, from the University of Bristol, told a national newspaper: "We need to be in a position to immunise children, particularly teenagers, promptly and efficiently if we need to.
Some health officials have expressed their frustration that children have been "left behind" during the vaccination process - Credit: PA
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"It is extremely important that education in the next academic year is not disrupted in any way."
But he added: "We should only be doing vaccine programmes when we need to do them."
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While children are unlikely to fall ill with Covid-19, they do play a role in transmitting the virus.
Professor Finn said on April 24 that children had been frustratingly "left behind" in the Covid-19 vaccine programme, adding he wanted to "get on" and conduct the necessary trials in children.
Meanwhile, Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden hailed a club night pilot event in Liverpool as a "huge moment" in the UK's return to normality. Some 3,000 clubbers returned to the dancefloor at The First Dance, hosted by club night Circus, without social distancing or face coverings on Friday.
A former chief scientific adviser to the Government warned, however, the potential for coronavirus cases to "reignite" remained as many adults were still unvaccinated.
Pfizer said its jab was safe to use on children aged 12 and up - Credit: Ben Birchall/PA Wire
New data revealed that up to April 30, nearly 15 million people in the UK had received a second dose of coronavirus vaccine.
The Government figures showed that that of the 49,287,257 jabs given in the UK so far, 34,346,273 were first doses and 14,940,984 were second doses.
The announcement comes as the Government said a further seven people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Saturday, bringing the UK total to 127,524.
