To ask the Minister of Health for an update on the vaccination programme for children aged 5 to 11; and for his assessment of the impact this will have on reducing transmission among that age group.

The member will be aware that the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) have to date only advised that those children aged 5-11 who are considered to be in a ‘clinical risk’ group or who are a household contact of someone who is immunosuppressed should be offered two doses of the paediatric formulation of the Pfizer vaccine. In Northern Ireland this is estimated to be around 25,000 children.

Vaccination appointments for these children were made available from the 27th of January 2022, in line with the rest of the UK, as the paediatric doses became available. In addition, a school based programme for pupils aged 5-11 years of age who attend a special school began from the 31 January.

The vaccine is being given to these children to protect them from becoming seriously ill from COVID-19 infection. This in turn should also reduce the chances of the individual being able to spread the infection but transmission may still be possible. Given that this group makes up around 15-20% of the total number of children aged 5-11, the overall impact on transmission on this age group is likely to be rather limited.