Statement
My Hon Friend the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Vaccines and Public Health) (Maggie Throup) has made the following Written Statement:
The Government accepted the recommendation of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on 16 February that 5 to 11 year-olds should be offered 2 paediatric doses of the Pfizer vaccine. Vaccinations have been offered to this age group from 4 April. A minimum interval of 12 weeks between doses is required, except for those in a clinical risk group or a household contact of someone who is immunosuppressed where the minimum interval is 8 weeks. This is a non-urgent offer.
As part of our commitment to open up travel, on 28 April the Government is launching the NHS COVID Pass letter service for children aged 5 to11 year-olds who have received a full primary course of COVID-19 vaccination.
There is a limited emerging international use-case for children in this age cohort to show their COVID-19 status for travel abroad, although other methods such as testing or entering with a parent or guardian with recognised COVID-19 status are available in those countries. Access to the NHS COVID Pass will save families with children in this cohort the cost of testing otherwise required for travel and ensure that young children are able to provide proof of their COVID-19 status on par with the rest of the population.
A person with parental responsibility for the child (such as the parent or guardian) will be able to request the letter online via the NHS website or by calling 119. The letter will only be sent to the address on the child’s GP record.
This service will be available for children aged 5 to 11 resident in England, Wales and the Isle of Man. In Northern Ireland, parents or guardians of children aged 5 to 11 years can request a digital or printed Covid certificate on behalf of a dependant. In Scotland, a paper copy of the vaccination status of children aged 5 and over is available by calling the COVID Status Helpline on 0808 196 8565.
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This statement has also been made in the House of Commons