Covid-19 vaccine programme opens to children under four
Chief Medical Officer Prof Breda Smyth said 'this vaccine offers further protection, particularly for children who have health conditions that put them at high risk of severe Covid-19'. Picture: Gareth Chaney/ Collins Photos
The HSE has announced a Covid-19 vaccination programme for all children aged between six months and four years old.
Up until now, Covid-19 vaccinations were only available to those aged five and over. However, the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (Niac) has now recommended vaccination for children aged from six months to four years with underlying conditions that place them at higher risk of severe Covid-19, in particular.
Niac also recommended that Covid-19 vaccination should be offered to all others in this age group to protect them from severe disease and provide extra protection from the rare risks of serious illness from Covid-19, noting multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children as a potential rare risk of illness from contracting Covid-19.
Vaccination of this age group will also provide the “modest benefit” in reducing household transmission to those immunocompromised or too young for vaccination, Niac said, before stressing the safety of the vaccine and the comparable immune response to it in older children and adolescents.
Specialist in public health medicine at the HSE National Immunisation Office, Dr Aparna Keegan, said: “We are encouraging parents to familiarise themselves with HSE advice on the Children’s Covid-19 vaccine with information available at www.hse.ie.
Children in this age group will require three doses of the vaccine with an interval of three weeks between doses one and two, and at least eight weeks between doses two and three.
The HSE also recommended that the Covid-19 vaccine is separated from the administration of other vaccines by 14 days. Community vaccination centres across the country will commence the rollout of clinics from Monday, February 20, with many commencing clinics later in the week and over the following weekend.
At present, the vaccination is only available through community vaccination centres. Clinic details will be updated on www.hse.ie on a rolling basis, and parents are being advised to check the website for updates on clinic availability in the coming weeks. Some counties including Mayo and Donegal will commence clinics from the following week beginning March 2.
This comes two weeks after the Chief Medical Officer Professor Breda Smyth urged people of all ages to keep an eye on their vaccine status and get a booster when eligible, as it is known that immunity against infection wanes over time.
Dr Aparna Keegan said despite serious illness from Covid-19 being rare in those aged between six months and four years old, “this vaccine offers further protection, particularly for children who have health conditions that put them at high risk of severe Covid-19”.
