Advice from the JCVI calls for young people between 12-17 with certain conditions to be offered the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
Around 4,000 children and young people between the ages of 12-17 are to be offered a vaccine before most schools return from the summer holiday on the 16th of August. This follows advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). Eligible young people include those living with severe neuro-disabilities, Down’s syndrome, underlying conditions resulting in immunosuppression, and those who have a diagnosis of Learning/Intellectual disability.
In addition, people in this age range who are household contacts of someone who is immuno-suppressed will also be offered the vaccine. “Household contacts” include people living in the same house, or anyone they are in regular face-to-face contact with for most of the week, such as a carer.
Those children and young people with specific conditions and their parents or carers will be contacted directly by their local Health Boards via letter, phone call or by their regular healthcare professional. The household contacts of the wider group of people with immunosuppression will be contacted by a letter from the National Vaccination Programme.