UK children aged 5 to 11 years to be soon included in COVID vaccine rollout: Report

A leaked National Health Service (NHS) proposal stated that children aged between 5 to 11 years in the United Kingdom will soon be included in the COVID vaccine rollout in the coming months, reported The Sun on Saturday. The proposals are based on concerns that COVID-19 will continue to be a threat for at least the next two years, and that vaccinating the children would be required to help reduce infection rates. However, due to a potential backlash from parents, health officials have kept the proposals under wraps so far, the report claimed. 

The vaccine would still need to be approved by UK authorities for children under the age of 12, and the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation would have to agree to children as young as five being vaccinated. Meanwhile, NHS chiefs predict that a regular COVID booster programme will be required to safeguard vulnerable people under the latest "planning scenario." "Top-secret plans explain what is at risk if we are to defeat COVID in a meaningful way. The plan also includes seeking permission from parents to vaccinate children as young as five years old," a senior source was quoted as saying by the outlet. 

He further stated that the plans may change as nothing is in the public domain yet. However, scientists believe that inoculating young children is a good idea as they can also spread the virus to vulnerable people despite the fact that children are at a significantly lower risk of contracting COVID-19, he added. It is significant to mention here that vaccination of children as young as five years old has already started in the United States, and it is expected to start shortly in Canada and Israel too. 

UK currently offers COVID vaccines to children over 12 years of age

Currently, only those over the age of 12 are offered vaccinations in the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, Pfizer is seeking approval from European regulators to use its COVID-19 jab in children aged 5 to 11 years old. According to the report, approval is expected soon, following which UK regulators will decide on its rollout. Meanwhile, the Office for National Statistics data claims that the majority of parents in the UK would allow their children to be vaccinated. "The NHS constantly plans for how it would operationalise providing vaccines to more individuals so that it is ready to extend the jab rapidly if and when the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommends it," a spokesperson for the NHS was quoted as saying by The Sun. 

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