Covid Omicron variant: Will five to 11 year olds be offered a coronavirus vaccine next?

Five to 11 year olds could be the next age group to be offered a coronavirus jab, with ministers now taking advice on the impact of vaccinating primary-school-age children.

With immunity to Covid-19 beginning to wane in the UK, given it has been several months since many people had their second dose of a vaccine, the government is keen to protect as many people as possible.

The emergence of a worrying new variant, known as Omicron, pushed the government into extending eligibility for the booster jab scheme to all adults over-18 in a bid to drive up immunity levels in the UK.

And 12 to 15 year olds were told they could have their second dose, after previously only being allowed the first, while those with severely weakened immune systems were told they'd soon be offered their fourth dose.

The Omicron variant - of which there are now at least 20 cases in the UK after it was first discovered in South Africa - is causing huge global concern among scientists who are worried vaccines could be less effective against it.

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Why vaccinate young children?

Young children are much less vulnerable to coronavirus than older age groups, but ministers and experts are considering whether vaccinating five to 11 year olds would in turn protect adults.

George Freeman, the minister for science, research and innovation, said "we're looking at the science on that and the balance of the rollout".

"Patrick Vallance, our chief scientist, and Chris Whitty (chief medical officer for England) are advising on that and it is their advice that guides us.

"The urgent priority now is to make sure that we roll out the jab programme through the population and, with Christmas coming, we want to make sure that as many people as possible are double-jabbed.

"I think that, in due course, we would like to make sure that all of those who are vulnerable have the right level of protection.

"The data at the moment suggests that young children are much less vulnerable but, as and when that data changes, we are guided by the science and we stand ready, which is partly why we have procured the vaccines - to make sure we can deliver what our citizens and patients need."

Are other countries vaccinating their youngsters?

A number of countries around the world have started vaccinating five to 11 year olds, including Israel, which has been considered a world-leader in vaccine rollout.

The EU has already approved the Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine for use in that age group, however the rollout has not yet begun, with a start date scheduled for December 13.

Other countries including the United States, Canada, China and Saudi Arabia have also approved jabs for five to 11 year olds.

If the age group was approved for vaccination in the UK, children would likely only be able to get a jab with parental consent.

The prime minister's spokesperson said the government was awaiting advice from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) before it makes a decision.

What do scientists think?

Professor Adam Finn, a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), said the main benefit of immunising children against Covid-19 is “the indirect protection of adults”.

He told BBC Breakfast: “The extent to which we can do that and protect adults by avoiding them being infected by children with the current vaccines is still quite uncertain.

“So, that’s the balance – we clearly want to protect children as much as possible and we’ve got good evidence now that this vaccine, even at a low dose, produces a really good protective immune response in children and produces many fewer side effects because of the lower dose.

“The question really is that should that be our focus right now or should we really be focusing on adults who are the ones that much more commonly get seriously ill.”