HSE to begin administering Covid-19 vaccinations for 12 to 15 year-olds in Limerick
MORE than 2,300 children, aged between 12 and 15, are expected to receive their first Covid-19 vaccine at dedicated clinics across the Mid West this weekend.
The UL Hospitals Group says parents have been registering their children for vaccination in considerable numbers since the HSE online portal opened on Wednesday evening and that the first clinics will take place on Saturday.
The clinics, by appointment only, will take place at Limerick Racecourse, the West County Hotel, Ennis, and Abbey Court Hotel, Nenagh this Saturday and Sunday.
Children attending any of the clinics must have an appointment and they must be accompanied by an adult. UL Hospitals says the timing of future clinics will take account of the new academic year.
Commenting ahead of the first dedicated clinics, Dr Siobhan Gallagher, Consultant Paediatrician, and Clinical Director, Maternal and Child Health Directorate, UL Hospitals Group, said: “We are pleased to be moving to the next stage of the vaccination programme. Ireland has made great progress to date and we are one of a number of EU countries now in a position to move ahead with vaccinating children aged 12 and over."
Parents are being reassured that the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines have been approved for this age group by the European Medicines Agency and recommended in Ireland by the National Immunisation Advisory Committee.
“I would in particular encourage vaccine uptake for children with an underlying health condition that puts them at increased risk of becoming unwell with a Covid-19 infection. While serious illness from Covid-19 in healthy children is thankfully rare, we are encouraging all parents and guardians to visit the HSE website and consider the benefits and risks of the vaccine for their children, their families and their communities before making an informed choice about vaccinating their child against Covid-19,” Dr Gallagher said.