Health and Social Care Secretary statement on Covid-19 vaccination of at-risk children aged 6 months to 4 years

21 April 2023

Following advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on Covid-19 vaccinations of at-risk children aged 6 months to 4 years, the Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay has issued a statement formally accepting it. The JCVI advises that children aged 6 months to 4 years in a clinical risk group should be offered 2 3-microgram doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

You can read the JCVI’s full advice here on the health protection section of the GOV.UK website.

It is important to note that data shows that Covid does not pose a serious threat of harm to most children. Furthermore, not all children who are in a clinical risk group are equally at risk of harm should they contract Covid therefore it should be a parental decision made (if necessary) with the guidance of their child’s healthcare team as to whether they wish to vaccinate for protection against Covid or not.

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