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15th Aug 2021

30,000 children aged 12 to 15 vaccinated in first two days of the rollout

Clara Kelly

Paul Reid said 90,000 children in the cohort have registered for a vaccine appointment.

Around 30,000 children aged 12 to 15 received Covid-19 vaccines in the first two days after the rollout was extended to that age group.

HSE CEO Paul Reid said on Sunday that 90,000 children in the cohort have now registered for a vaccine appointment.

Some centres began giving the vaccine to 12 to 15-year-olds on Friday, however, the majority of centres began vaccinating the age group from Saturday.

There are roughly 280,000 children in the 12-15 age bracket in Ireland, who if they choose to register for a vaccine will need parental permission to receive a Pfizer or Moderna jab.

“We now have almost 90,000 12 to 15-year-olds who are registered on the portal or may have just received it directly from a GP,” he told RTÉ Radio One.

“There’s 30,000 in total vaccines administered to 12 to 15-year-olds since we commenced on Friday in some locations, but primarily yesterday.”

Reid also said that he expected more parents to register their children for the vaccine ahead of the new school term.

He confirmed that children who were fully vaccinated would not have to isolate if they were a close contact unless they display symptoms of the virus. Meanwhile, children who are unvaccinated will have to isolate.

“You are more exposed if you are not fully vaccinated and you are highly more protected if you are vaccinated, so it’s really aligned with the public health advice that we’ve put in place throughout,” he said.

Main Image: Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland/RollingNews.ie.

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