People aged 12 to 15 in England will be offered one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, following advice from country's four Chief Medical Officers (CMOs), UK's Health and Social Care Secretary has announced.

In line with the recommendation of the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), the Boris Johnson government sought the views of the four UK CMOs on the wider issues that are relevant to the health of children.

Following their advice, the government is now preparing to deliver a schools-based vaccination programme, the invitations for which will begin next week.

Parental, guardian or carer consent will be sought by vaccination healthcare staff prior to vaccination in line with existing school vaccination programmes.

Healthy school-aged children aged 12 to 15 will primarily receive their Covid-19 vaccination in their school with alternative provision for those who are home schooled, in secure services or specialist mental health settings.

"Our outstanding NHS stands ready to move forward with rolling out the vaccine to this group with the same sense of urgency we’ve had at every point in our vaccination programme," said UK Health and Social Care Secretary, Sajid Javid.

Over four in five adults across the UK have received both Covid-19 vaccine doses, with over half of all 16 and 17 year olds coming forward for their first jab.

Since the European Medicines Agency approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine in children 12-15 in May, several countries, including Denmark, France and Spain, have started Covid-19 vaccination for children.

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