All 5-11 year olds in the bailiwick will be offered the Covid-19 vaccine.

The JCVI had advised offering two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to children aged 5 to 11.

Health & Social Care staff are working on offering the vaccine, with invitation letters being sent to parents in shortly. 

5-11 year olds in a risk group or who live with someone who is immuno-suppressed were recommended last December to receive two doses of the Pfizer vaccine, eight weeks apart.

In updated guidance, the JCVI says jabs should also be offered to children who are not in a clinical risk group. The two doses should be at least 12 weeks apart.

"Whenever our Committee has received advice about the option of offering the vaccine to young people, we have always given it very careful consideration.

We have always sought to align our vaccination programme with the advice of the JCVI and, following a review of its latest guidance on offering the vaccine for 5 to 11 year olds, we took the decision that we would again align. 

When we send out invitation letters, we always ensure they contain relevant information to help support healthy discussions between parents and their children before they make whatever decision is right for them." - Deputy Al Brouard, President of the Committee for Health & Social Care.