Abstract

JCVI advises a non-urgent offer of two 10 mcg doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (Comirnaty®) to children aged 5 to 11 years of age who are not in a clinical risk group. The 2 doses should be offered with an interval of at least 12 weeks between doses.

The intention of this offer is to increase the immunity of vaccinated individuals against severe COVID-19 in advance of a potential future wave of COVID-19.

For deployment teams, JCVI advises that:

  • the offer of COVID-19 vaccination to 5 to 11 year olds who are not in a clinical risk group should not displace the delivery of other paediatric non-COVID-19 or COVID-19 immunisation programmes
  • delivery of paediatric non-COVID-19 immunisation programmes across all ages should receive due attention, particularly where vaccine coverage has fallen behind due to the COVID-19 pandemic and where there is evidence of health inequalities
  • use of the Pfizer-BioNTech 10 mcg paediatric formulation vaccine should be encouraged for all pupils in the relevant academic year for children aged 11 to 12 to reduce complexity in programme delivery and expected reactogenic events for individuals

This advice on the offer of vaccination to 5 to 11-year olds who are not in a clinical risk group is considered by JCVI as a one-off pandemic response programme[footnote 1]. As the COVID-19 pandemic moves further towards endemicity in the UK, JCVI will review whether, in the longer term, an offer of vaccination to this, and other paediatric age groups, continues to be advised.

  • Recommendation
  • Europe
  • United Kingdom
  • children
  • COVID-19