UK begins COVID vaccinations for vulnerable children

Britain on Sunday is set to begin COVID-19 vaccinations for clinically vulnerable children aged five to 11 with a new paediatric formulation of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine. Jayson Albano reports.

Britain begins COVID-19 vaccinations this week for vulnerable children between the ages of five and eleven.

Ahead of the formal rollout, eleven-year-old Xavier Aquilina became one of the first children to receive a new paediatric formulation of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine.

Aquilina, who has epilepsy, said the experience wasn't as stressful as he thought it would be.

"It (getting vaccinated) was more of like a kind of surprise pain, not hurting that much but just giving you a small jump scare."

"Everybody here is quite nice and you get a sticker at the end."

The new Pfizer vaccine formulation, called Comirnaty, received approval from the British government in December.

Children will only receive a third of the adult dose in two sessions over eight weeks, in proportion to their smaller size.

Joseph Todd is the director of this particular vaccine center.

"I think its very important for them (clinically vulnerable children) to be brought in and to be seen, so that they can regain some sort of social interaction, they can get back to the normal activities of daily living that the rest of us take for granted."

Infections are currently high among school children in Britain, with some estimates saying more than one in ten younger students are testing positive.

However the country has been slower than some others in offering the shots to 5-11 year olds.

Still, Britain is not planning to vaccinate the age group more broadly, unlike countries such as the United States and Israel.

 

 

 

 

 

REUTERS