Borders 12-15-year-olds to be offered Covid jabs in school

Borders children aged 12-15 will be offered the Pfizer vaccine in school.

NHS Borders will be offering children aged 12-15 Covid-19 vaccinations in their schools from Monday, September 27.

The move comes after the Scottish Government’s confirmation last week that children of that age who are not already covered by existing advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) will be offered a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, following advice provided by the UK’s four chief medical officers.

Children aged between 12-15 who have specific underlying conditions or disabilities are already covered by previous JCVI advice and will be offered two doses, eight weeks apart.

The children their parents/carers can opt to drop-in to a vaccination clinic. Before attending a clinic, young people and their parents must read the online leaflet and materials which can be found at www.nhsinform.scot/12to15.

For the vaccinations in schools, information and consent forms are being sent out in school bags to the relevant children.

A spokesperson for NHS Borders said: “Any parents/carers who have questions and would like to have a conversation with one of our clinical vaccinators are encouraged to visit a drop-in clinic this week as parents will not be permitted to accompany their child to their appointment at a school session.”

Catch-up sessions will also be held as some may be excluded due to 28 days post Covid-19 infection.