Children as young as 12 could be vaccinated in Wales 'later this year', First Minister says
First Minister Mark Drakeford on vaccinating children in Wales
Children in Wales could be offered the Covid vaccine "later this year", the First Minister has said.
Mark Drakeford said some vaccines are beginning to obtain a licence to supply doses for children as young as 12 years old in certain countries.
Speaking to ITV Wales' political programme Sharp End, he said the Welsh Government is "watching that very carefully", and that Wales is "very likely to want to take advantage of that".
It comes as one Welsh health board said it has begun arranging appointments for those 18 and over to receive their vaccine. Cardiff and Vale Health Board said it has started sending letters out to that age group for them to receive the first dose by 30 May.
Mr Drakeford suggested that vaccines for children could be approved later this year, and that they would be offered to pupils in secondary schools.
He added that this might allow his government to lift some Covid restrictions in schools.
Mr Drakeford added, "If there is a vaccine that gets that licence for use here in Wales, then I think we are very likely to want to take advantage of that.
"It may be that, later this year even, we will be able to have a programme in our secondary schools of offering those young people a vaccination.
"[This] would make schools even safer than they are now and might allow us to lift some of the other restrictions that we have - wearing of masks in classrooms all the time for example - that inevitably makes that learning experience less comfortable than it would otherwise be."
Earlier this month, it was reported that secondary school pupils in England will be offered the jab from September under plans being developed by the NHS.
Health service officials are compiling planning documents which include a measure to offer a single dose of the Pfizer jab to children aged 12 and older when the new school year starts, according to The Sunday Times.
Pfizer has said trials of its vaccine in children aged 12 to 15 showed 100% efficacy and a strong immune response.
In February, children as young as six received the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine as part of a trial to test its efficacy in youngsters.
Some 300 volunteers took part in the trial to assess whether the jab could produce a strong immune response in children aged between six to 17.
Over the weekend, it was confirmed that more than two million people in Wales have now received their first dose of the vaccine.
Figures released by the Welsh Government show that almost three million doses of the jab have been administered in Wales in less than six months.
This means 80% of all adults in Wales have received their first vaccine and one in three adults have had their second dose.
The announcement came ahead of planning lockdown easing, with pubs, cafes and restaurants resuming indoor service on Monday.
Entertainment venues like cinemas and all tourist accommodation could reopen, with holidays abroad also now allowed to certain countries.
However, Mr Drakeford warned that even the most vaccinated areas of Wales would still be vulnerable to any potential new variant outbreaks.
He said: "If we were to see a variant take off and come into Wales in significant numbers, even those communities, at the moment, would not have the level of vaccination or naturally acquired immunity that you could be confident would give them sufficient defence."