Covid-19 vaccines for children from six months up to four years old have begun this morning with parents encouraged to bring their little ones to their nearest centre.
The HSE has announced last week that from today, they will provide appointments for children aged six months to four years for a Covid-19 vaccine.
Appointments may be booked on www.hse.ie.
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NIAC has recommended Covid-19 vaccination for children aged six months to four years with underlying conditions that place them at higher risk of severe Covid-19.
NIAC has also recommended that Covid-19 vaccination should be offered to all others in this age group to protect them from severe disease, provide extra protection from the rare risks of serious illness from Covid-19, like multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, as well as providing the modest benefit in reducing household transmission to those immunocompromised or too young for vaccination.
NIAC has also stressed the safety profile of the vaccine and the comparable immunogenicity to that in older children and adolescents.
Dr Aparna Keegan, Specialist in Public Health Medicine, HSE National Immunisation Office (NIO) said: “We are encouraging parents to familiarise themselves with HSE advice on the Children’s Covid-19 vaccine with information available at www.hse.ie. We know from listening to parents they have questions about getting the Covid-19 vaccine for their children. This is why we have provided information on our website to help parents make an informed decision.
“While serious illness from Covid-19 in this age group is rare, this vaccine offers further protection particularly for children who have health conditions that put them at high risk of severe Covid-19.”
Children in this age group will require three doses of the vaccine with an interval of three weeks between dose one and two and at least eight weeks between dose two and three.
It is also recommended that the Covid-19 vaccine is separated from the administration of other vaccines by 14 days.
Community Vaccination Centres across the country will commence the roll out of clinics from Monday onwards with many commencing clinics later in the week and over the following weekend. At present the vaccination is only available through the community vaccination centres.
Clinic details will be updated on www.hse.ie on a rolling basis so parents are advised to check the website for updates on clinic availability in the coming weeks. Some counties including Mayo and Donegal will commence clinics from the following week March 2.
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