Decision awaited on vaccinating 5-11 year olds in covid risk groups

Thursday 23 December 2021

No decision has been announced yet about whether the Bailiwick will vaccinate any younger children against covid-19 after the UK's medicines regulator approved the vaccine for 5-11 year olds.

The UK and Jersey have already said they will now vaccinate children of that age who are most vulnerable to covid-19 or who live with someone who is most vulnerable to it.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announced on Wednesday that "a new age-appropriate formulation of the Pfizer BioNTech covid-19 vaccine for use in children aged five to 11 years old has been approved today...after finding that it is safe and effective". The MHRA said there had been "a robust review of safety data that shows a positive benefit-risk profile for this vaccine to be used in this age group".

The UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which advises UK health departments on immunisation, immediately recommended vaccinations for about 330,000 younger children who are at clinical risk or live with someone who is immunosuppressed.

Children between the ages of five and 11 who meet those criteria look set to be offered two doses of the Pfizer vaccine - in 10-microgram amounts, a third of the quantity used for adults – with a gap of eight weeks.

Late on Wednesday, the States' Committee for Health & Social Care told Express: "The Committee is aware of the advice of the JCVI and the regulatory approval by the MHRA and will provide an update in due course."

Pictured: The members of the Committee for Health & Social Care, who are responsible for the Bailiwick's vaccination programme. The Committee has not yet announced whether vaccines will be extended to any children aged five to 11 or whether boosters will be offered to any older children.

Separately, the JCVI advised that booster vaccinations should be offered to persons aged:

• 16 to 17 years;
• 12 to 15 years who are at clinical risk or a household contact of someone who is immunosuppressed; or
• 12 to 15 years who are severely immunocompromised and have received earlier doses of vaccine.

The States' Committee for Health & Social Care has also not yet announced whether it will follow this advice and extend the booster programme to any children.

In Jersey, the States said that they "welcome all of the latest guidance from the JCVI...[and] will be incorporating the latest recommendations" into their vaccine programme.

Dr June Raine, Chief Executive of the MHRA, said: “Parents and carers can be reassured that no new vaccine for children would have been approved unless the expected standards of safety, quality and effectiveness have been met.

"In coming to this decision, the MHRA has liaised closely with other international regulators and public health bodies and carefully considered global data on use in 5-11-year olds. These data demonstrate a favourable safety profile compared with that seen in other age groups. Over 5.5 million dosages of the vaccine in 5-11s have now been administered in the US alone."