Vaccine walk-ins to open up to 12-to-15-year-olds as Covid positivity rates fly
Walk-in vaccine centres are reportedly set to open up to children as Covid-19 positivity rates become highest in secondary school-age children.
Ministers are planning on unveiling the scheme within weeks, according to the Mail on Sunday.
The government sources reportedly added that the new clinics are an attempt to keep anti-vaxxers away from school premises.
Around 8.10 per cent of secondary school aged children tested positive for the virus in the week to Wednesday, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The move comes amid concern that the vaccine roll-out is not happening fast enough for school children, who risk missing out on in-person lesson time ahead of the exam season next year.
Vaccinations for 12-to-15-year-olds had been given the green light by the government’s chief medical officers in September.
Though the Joint Committee on Vaccinations and Immunisation (JCVI) refused to give the go ahead for under-16s widely receiving the jabs, because there were just “marginal” health benefits.
However, the JCVI noted that the jabs had a material advantage in helping keep children in school, following an extending period of home learning.