Children who are at increased risk of serious coronavirus (COVID-19) disease will be offered the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has announced.
The JCVI has recommended that children aged 12 to 15 and who are in one of four groups be offered the vaccine. These are children with;
- severe neurodisabilities,
- Down’s syndrome,
- multiple or severe learning disabilities.
- immunosuppression
The announcement means that some 12 to 15 years olds with a muscle-wasting condition may now be eligible for vaccination due to being immunosuppressed. Muscular Dystrophy UK is awaiting expert advice and guidance on this and will update the community as soon as we can.
More information on what is meant by ‘immunosuppressed’ is contained in the Government’s ‘green book’ of Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination information for public health professionals.
12 to 15 year olds who are not in one of the four groups announced by JCVI but who have a household member who does and who is immunosuppressed (including siblings) may also now be able to receive a vaccination. This will indirectly protect those who are immunosuppressed because they are at higher risk of getting seriously ill from Covid-19 and may not generate a full immune response to vaccination.
Existing advice is that young people aged 16 to 17 with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious Covid-19 should have already been offered vaccination.
The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is the only vaccine that has been authorised for children in the UK for those aged 12 or older. This followed a US clinical trial of around 1,000 children aged 12 to 15 that found side effects in this group were generally short-lived and mild to moderate.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact our helpline on 0800 652 6352 or email at info@musculardystrophyuk.org