Children under 5 years old will be provided with Covid jab . game

KIDS under the age of 5 will finally be offered Covid vaccinations – with the vaccine watchdog expected to give the green light on Monday.

But given the benefits of a “balanced” immunization in younger children, parents won’t be pressured to get it.

first

Instead, the Joint Committee on Immunization and Immunization will make a “non-urgent recommendation” for people aged five to 11.

That means they can choose whether to capture Covid or not.

Some families want their young children vaccinated to make international travel easier.

So far, the vaccine has only been universally offered to people over the age of 12.

People under 12 years of age can be vaccinated, but only if they are clinically vulnerable or live with someone who is immunocompromised.

A senior source said: “It was a delicately balanced decision so the solution was a half-baked house. Smaller kids will be able to get the jab, but only if they want to. The UK’s regulator, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority, approved a children-specific Pfizer drug in December saying it was ‘safe and effective’ to use.

But JCVI still has the final say on whether it should be offered to children under 12.

The EU started rolling out the vaccine to children aged 5 to 11 years before Christmas, with millions of young people in Germany, France, Italy and Spain now taking part.

It follows the lead of the United States and Israel, who began vaccinating younger children in November.

Some experts say the UK is “out of date” when vaccinating young children will yield any major benefits.

Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine from the University of East Anglia, said most primary school children have contracted the coronavirus.

And with infection rates falling, the benefits are limited.

But others feel that the jabs will still provide extra protection for kids from any future variations.

More than 91 per cent of children over 12 have had at least one shot, with almost 52.5 million Britons having been vaccinated.