Covid jabs to be offered to under all younger teens by end of half-term

A CORONAVIRUS vaccine will be offered to all 12 to 15-year-olds in Wales by the end of the October half-term, the Welsh Government has confirmed.

A spokesman said that first doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine will start to be administered to this age group from Monday in mass vaccination centres and some schools.

It follows advice from the UK’s four chief medical officers who concluded that a comprehensive rollout of the vaccine would help to reduce – but not eliminate – education disruption. They claim it will also lower the risk of public health harm from the virus which is still rampant in most Welsh communities. Under 16s have the highest Covid infection rate in Wales.

Health Minister Eluned Morgan said there would be “a blended model” of offering the vaccine, with all health boards primarily inviting this age group to vaccination centres. However, some will be done at schools where suitable.

“The strength of this model is that it is based on local knowledge and it is flexible and agile so it can change depending on the circumstances,” she said.

“The vaccine is not mandatory and people can choose whether to have the vaccine or not. There will be appropriate information made available for children and young people and their parents to make up their minds about vaccination.

“Parents or guardians will be asked to give consent. I encourage parents, guardians, children and young people to discuss together whether or not to have the vaccination.”

In the event a child wants the vaccine but the parents refuse, a Gillick capacity and competence test will be carried out by clinicians to determine whether the child is able to make the decision for themselves.

“We’ve always, as a government, emphasised the importance of getting our children back into school and keeping them in school where possible,” said Baroness Morgan.

“We also know that if children contract coronavirus when they’ve had a jab symptoms are likely to be much milder.”

Meanwhile the winter booster vaccines have started being given out to frontline NHS workers and the most vulnerable in society.