PARENTS of children aged five to 11 in a clinical risk group are being encouraged to get them vaccinated against Covid-19 "without delay".
The appeal by the Public Health Agency (PHA) comes following the JCVI recommendation that children in this age group who are considered at risk or are a household contact of someone who is immunosuppressed, should be offered the jab.
The PHA said most children who get Covid-19 have very mild symptoms or no symptoms at all.
But the children being offered the vaccine have certain health conditions, putting them at higher risk of severe illness from the virus and more likely to have to go to hospital, or they live with someone who is it at greater risk from coronavirus.
GPs will be writing out to these children to advise them of arrangements.
Eligible children will either receive their vaccine via dedicated Trust vaccine clinics or in school for those children attending special schools.
Dr Jillian Johnston from the PHA, said: "There are approximately 25,000 children aged five to 11-year-olds in Northern Ireland eligible for the Covid-19 vaccine and we are urging the parents of these children to take up the offer when invited.
"A new specially designed paediatric formulation of the Pfizer BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine has been approved for this age group and it’s given at a lower dose compared to that used in individuals aged 12 and above (10 micrograms compared with 30 micrograms).
"Like all children’s vaccines this approval was given following a robust review of data showing that it is safe and effective to use in this cohort."
Chief medical Officer Professor Sir Michael McBride also urged parents to "take this opportunity to have your child vaccinated if they are eligible".
"It is the surest way to protect them from the effects of this virus," he said.
"As we have seen in recent weeks our schools continue to reflect the high levels of transmission within the community at large.
"It is therefore vitally important we take advantage of every opportunity to protect our children, especially those who are particularly vulnerable."
