Thousands of parents register children for Covid-19 vaccine as portal opens for 5 to 11-year olds

The HSE has opened the Covid-19 vaccination registration portal for children aged 5 to 11. Appointments are expected to follow shortly.

The Covid-19 vaccine registration portal for children aged 5 to 11 years old has opened this morning.

Registration can be completed online, and parents or guardians of any child in this age group will need to provide a PPS number, a mobile number, an email address, an Eircode and some other basic details to complete the process. 

Anyone without a PPS number, or who cannot register online, can phone HSE live to be registered.

Speaking this morning, Director of the National Immunisation Office with the HSE, Dr Lucy Jessop, explained that after registration, parents or guardians will receive a text message asking for consent. 

If consent is given at this point, another adult can bring the child to the vaccination centre for the appointment. 

Parents or guardians who do not register online must be the ones accompanying the child to the vaccination centre so that they can give consent on the day, she said.

Dr Jessop also said a child can get the vaccine even if they contracted Covid-19 previously, provided it has been at least four weeks since they tested positive.

Under advice from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac), children will receive a smaller dose of the Pfizer vaccine than adults and receive two doses around three weeks apart.

Dr Jessop also said children can also get the Covid vaccine if it has been 14 days since they received another vaccination such as the flu or MMR vaccines.

"The national immunisation advisory committee has advised that children should wait at least 14 days between having a vaccine and having the Covid-19 vaccine, so for this age group this might be the nasal flu vaccine, or they might have had or be about to have their junior interim MMR or the 4-in-1 vaccine," she told RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland.

Dr Lucy Jessop, Director of Public Health at the National Immunisation Office (NIO). File Picture: Leah Farrell / Photocall Ireland

Parents of children with additional needs who might need an alternative appointment at a quieter time are urged to call 1800 700 700 if the given appointment does not suit.

Asked why vaccinations were not being offered at schools, Dr Jessop said there were a couple of reasons for this.

"The national immunisation advisory committee were very clear that we mustn’t let the covid vaccination programme affect any of those other routine programmes.

"As the HSE, we felt it was a good idea to give the vaccine in central vaccination centres, because also need to remember we need to do two doses, 21 days apart," she said.

"To go around every school in Ireland twice, within that time period would be very difficult."

After registering online, parents or guardians will be sent an appointment for their timeslot a few days later. 

"You will have a couple of days notice to make arrangements and make sure you can be free to take your child," Dr Jessop said. 

An appointment for the second vaccine dose will be sent in the same fashion.

Dr Jessop said several thousand children had already been registered by this morning, which was "really good news."

As for advice to parents unsure about vaccinating their child, Dr Jessop said parents unsure about vaccination their child should take time to consider the information on the HSE website "and discuss the vaccination with a GP or a pharmacist or any other trusted healthcare professional."

In a statement, the HSE said that clinical trials had shown the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to be highly effective at preventing Covid-19 in children.

"While serious illness from Covid-19 in this age group is rare, this vaccine offers further protection," the HSE said.

The portal opened last week for children in this age group who have a health condition that puts them at higher risk of Covid-19, or if they live with someone who is a higher risk.