The UK′s National Health Service (NHS) has expanded the eligibility of COVID-19 vaccination to cover at-risk children aged between 5 and 11 years.

Eligible children will include those with diabetes, immunosuppression, learning disabilities, and other serious conditions that put them at a high risk from COVID-19. Around 500,000 eligible children in England will receive their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine as per the advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

The NHS had earlier started vaccination for children aged 12 years and over and has delivered more than 3.5 million vaccinations to those aged 12-17 years, including more than 2.4 million first doses. 

Eligible children in the youngest age group will receive their second vaccine dose eight weeks after the first dose. They can′t receive any vaccination until four weeks following a positive test for COVID-19… (Business Standard – PTI, January 30, 2022)