Covid in Wales: Teens aged 16-17 to be offered jabs

All teenagers aged 16 and 17 in Wales will be offered Covid-19 vaccinations, the Welsh government has confirmed.

Health Minister Eluned Morgan said work was under way to expand the vaccination programme.

It follows new advice to offer 16 and 17-year-olds a first dose of the jab from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

There are 67,142 teenagers in the age bracket in Wales - some have already been eligible for the jab.

Ms Morgan said: "In line with the other nations of the UK, the Welsh government welcomes the latest JCVI advice and thanks them for their expertise and considered judgement on such important issues.

"We are now working with the NHS on the arrangements needed to offer the vaccination to all 16 and 17-year-olds in line with the JCVI advice."

The JCVI said advice on when to offer the second dose will come later.

It is not clear when the Welsh NHS will begin to offer the vaccinations. A spokesperson said the details are being finalised and arrangements will be confirmed "very shortly".

Plaid Cymru's health spokesman Rhun ap Iorwerth said he hoped ministers would "act quickly to roll out those vaccines", and said schools need to be made as "safe as possible" ahead of their reopening in September.

The Welsh Conservatives said the roll out was "great news and only made possible through the British government's procurement of plenty of vaccines".

The only vaccine approved for use in the UK for under-18s is the Pfizer-BioNTech jab.

Until now children aged 12 or older have been offered jabs if they have health conditions that make them vulnerable to coronavirus, they live with others who are at high risk or are near to having their 18th birthday.

In Wales 9,618 16-17 year olds have already had a first dose.

Other countries, such as the US and France, have already been vaccinating children over the age of 12.

Laura Doel, director of NAHT Cymru, said the headteaching union would "continue to urge ministers to ensure that alternative safety measures are put in place" in schools "such as better ventilation and a properly functioning test and trace system that takes into account how schools function".

The JCVI has effectively set much of the UK's vaccine policy throughout the pandemic, although it is up to the Welsh government and other UK nations to decide if they follow the advice.

Supplies have been purchased by the UK government, and distributed by the different NHS bodies in the four nations.

The committee said it expected one dose of the vaccine to give good protection against severe illness and hospitalisation in the 16 and 17 age group.

Recent figures show that 75% of 18 to 29-year-olds have had their first jab in Wales.

The Covid case rate fell on Wednesday to 136.3 new infections per 100,000 people.

Most lockdown rules are set to be eased this weekend, with social distancing laws set to be scrapped, and legal limits on who you can meet set to end.