COVID: Vaccine appointments for children to be available from next week, informs UK PMO

The UK Prime Minister’s office has announced that COVID vaccination appointments for children would be available in England starting next week, as PM Boris Johnson claimed that the nation has been facing a tough winter due to Coronavirus and flu infections further straining the NHS. The prime minister's spokesman reiterated the NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard's worries by stating that people were required to be reminded that the disease was still spreading and the vaccination rates have to go up. The warning came following the current daily death toll of 223 which became the highest since early March. 

The spokesperson has even supported the 12 to 15-years-old vaccination program, which was earlier criticised for moving slowly, and assured that it will be expanded outside school premises. He further said that COVID vaccine doses will be provided at vaccination locations, and qualified parents and guardians will get a text or letter immediately asking them to utilise the national booking service or call 119 to schedule an appointment for the children. 

Johnson's spokesman went on to say that the prime minister has underlined the fall and winter strategy for keeping the disease under control and also that infection rates and hospitalisations remain stable. PM has also highlighted the need of devoting all of the resources to vaccine coverage, noting that the booster vaccine campaign is doing well, with over 3.7 million individuals having obtained their third shot. 

PM Johnson's spokesperson talks about the COVID vaccine rollout for children 

Furthermore, the spokesman explained how children would eventually be vaccinated at inoculation facilities, by saying that children would receive a vaccination at the preexisting centers, which also include GP offices, pharmacies, as well as other local centers. The spokesperson also described the initial attempt of giving vaccines to children in schools as “tried and tested”, adding that it had served an "essential purpose in the development of vaccine coverage to children beyond school. The Guardian reported the spokesperson saying, “We want to do everything possible to expand and ensure we can get these jabs in as efficiently and safely as possible.” 

As per the Department for Education's fortnightly attendance data, the total number of children in England who are absent due to Covid infection has increased once again in the country. According to the statistics, nearly 209,000 children were absent from school on October 14 due to COVID-related causes, up from 204,000 the previous day. There were 111,000 reported COVID infections, up 9,000 from the previous year. 

Additionally, the percentage of students attending school increased slightly over the last two weeks, rising from 89.5 per cent on September 30 to 90 per cent, although COVID-related absenteeism in schools increased from 2.5 to 2.6 per cent. Further, the number of students absent from school for COVID causes increased by 66 per cent in a fortnight, from 122,000 two weeks prior.  Meanwhile, according to the latest numbers provided by the Worldometer, the total number of confirmed cases in the nation is 85,41,192, whereas the total number of fatalities is 1,38,852. 

(Image: AP)