JCVI: 16 to 17-year-olds should be offered vaccination
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has updated their guidance to recommend that all 16 and 17-year-olds should be offered one dose of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccination – the only vaccine currently approved for people under 18.
As before, the JCVI recommends everyone over 18 should be offered vaccination, and 12 to 15-year-olds can be offered the vaccine if they have severe neurodisabilities, Down’s syndrome, immunosuppression and multiple or severe learning disabilities. In addition, 12 to 17-year-olds who live with an immunosuppressed person should be offered the vaccine to protect their household.
It is not clear if having Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) classifies someone as “immunosuppressed”, but Duchenne UK, along with partner charities, will write to the JCVI shortly for clarification and will update the community as soon as we can.
Currently, the JCVI is advising 16 and 17-year-olds should receive only one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, not two as recommended for adults.
More information on the JCVI’s new announcement can be found on their website. It is expected that the government and the devolved administrations will follow the advice of the JCVI and make the vaccine available to 16 and 17-year-olds in the coming weeks.
Children and young people 16 years old and above will not need parental consent to get the vaccine.