The MHRA has confirmed that Pfizer, a producer of the Covid-19 vaccination, is expected to apply for permission for the jab to be used in five-to-11-year-olds in this country.
Currently only children from the age of 12 are able to take up a vaccination against Coronavirus in the UK. Unlike adults, they are offered just one dose.
The news follows the move by Ireland to approve use of the vaccine for five–to–11-year-olds this week, following in the footsteps of Italy, Spain, Australia and the United States.
Reports suggest it will likely be January before the main vaccination programme begins in Ireland and those in this age group will receive a lower dose than older children.
It comes as the number of Covid cases continue to rise across the country, in particular in younger children, and after new variant Omicron was discovered, leading the Government to implement its coronavirus ‘Plan B’.
A MHRA spokesperson said, ‘Pfizer has stated that they are applying to the MHRA for an extension to their Covid-19 vaccine authorisation that would allow use in 5-11 year olds. Further details on the timing of this submission would be for Pfizer to provide.
‘We are committed to providing safe, timely access to treatment for UK patients, and will continue to prioritise our Covid-19 evaluations. This includes any decision on use in under 12s. Any such decision would be subject to our robust regulatory standards. In the meantime, we are looking at the data from other countries to ensure that when an application is received, we are making the best decision for children in the UK.’
A member of the Government’s SAGE group, Professor John Edwards, who specialises in infectious disease modelling at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told Nursery World that ‘if the MHRA approve the vaccine, assessing that the benefits outweigh the risks to the individual (child), then there is a very strong population-based argument to vaccinate them as soon as possible, given the very high case rates we have seen in children over the last few months.’
A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said however that ‘Covid-19 vaccines for under 12s have not yet been approved by our independent medicines regulator, and are therefore not used in the UK.’