COVID-19 update | UK expands vaccines to at-risk 5 to 11-year-old kids

NHS England said nearly 500,000 eligible children in England are set to receive their first dose of a COVID vaccine in line with advice set out by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

PTI

January 30, 2022 / 10:46 PM IST

Source: AP

The UK's National Health Service (NHS) on Sunday expanded its COVID-19 vaccination programme to cover vulnerable children aged five to 11 years. Eligible children include those with diabetes, immunosuppression, learning disabilities, and other serious conditions that place them at a high risk from COVID-19. NHS England said nearly 500,000 eligible children in England are set to receive their first dose of a COVID vaccine in line with advice set out by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

We know vaccines give significant protection against severe illness from COVID including the Omicron variant, so it is important that our youngest and most at-risk get protected, said Dr Nikki Kanani, an Indian-origin GP and deputy lead for NHS vaccination programme. The NHS is now vaccinating the most at risk 511-year-olds ensuring they get their vital dose of protection. Thousands of young people are still getting protected every day with millions vaccinated so far and we are asking parents not to delay coming forward as soon as the NHS contacts you, please come forward so the NHS can protect their youngest against the virus, she said.

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The NHS had earlier opened up vaccines for the over 12 age group and said it has delivered over 3.5 million vaccinations to people aged 12-17, including over 2.4 million first doses. UK Vaccines Minister Maggie Throup said: I would like parents and guardians to be reassured that no new vaccine for children would have been approved unless the expected standards of safety, quality and effectiveness had been met.

I encourage as many as possible to make sure they get their child the jab when contacted – the paediatric vaccine will offer the best possible protection for your child. In line with procedures, patient information is sent out to parents and guardians with information on the COVID-19 vaccination. Parents and guardians are asked to attend with their children and are asked to read the patient information in advance of arriving for their appointment.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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