Ireland To Vaccinate Teens As Delta Concerns Linger

Ireland will start offering Covid-19 vaccinations to children aged 12 and up, the government said Tuesday, warning the Delta variant still poses "a significant risk" in the country despite a high-tempo jabs rollout

Dublin, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jul, 2021 ) :Ireland will start offering Covid-19 vaccinations to children aged 12 and up, the government said Tuesday, warning the Delta variant still poses "a significant risk" in the country despite a high-tempo jabs rollout.

In a statement following a cabinet meeting, the government said it "accepted advice" from Dublin's jabs taskforce that "recommends the extension of the vaccination programme to children aged 12-15".

"This will be reviewed from a planning, operational and clinical perspective in the coming days," the statement said.

Health minister Stephen Donnelly said children would be offered mRNA vaccines produced by Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna which have been approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

"We are continuing to see an increase in cases of Covid-19 among our young people," he said in a statement.

"Vaccination, along with continued adherence to the public health advice, remains the best protection we can offer."Separately on Tuesday, Irish teenagers aged 16 and 17 were permitted to register to secure appointments for mRNA Covid vaccinations.

Those aged 18 plus have been eligible for vaccination since early July.