Vaccinations for 5-11 year-olds at-risk

 

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  • The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised that 5 to 11-year-olds who are either in a clinical risk group or are a household contact of someone who is immunosuppressed should be offered two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, with a minimum interval of eight weeks.
  • This means around half a million children nationally will soon be invited to take up their jab. 
  • The JCVI has set out criteria for determining who should be offered vaccination within this group and clinicians will be responsible for identifying children in their care who are eligible.
  • Information on eligibility can be found in the Green Book, chapter 14a in the section on children aged 5-11 years and tables 3 and 4.
 

How will I know if my child is eligible?

  • GPs and hospital specialists have been asked to identify 5 to 11-year-olds who are eligible. For children eligible as a household contact, we will write directly to the person who is immunosuppressed. 
  • Parents and guardians will be notified if their child should get the vaccine and told how they can book an appointment. The NHS will be in touch in the coming weeks if your child is eligible, so it’s important that parents wait to hear from us and do not contact their GP.

Published: Feb 22, 2022