Schoolchildren aged between 12 and 15 years will be offered a first dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine starting next week, the UK government has announced after the country’s Chief Medical Officers gave their go-ahead for the jabs for younger age groups.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said on Monday evening that ministers have accepted the advice of the four UK Chief Medical Officers (CMOs) and the National Health Service (NHS) is now preparing to deliver a schools-based vaccination programme. This will be based on what the NHS says is their “successful model” used for vaccinations including for HPV and Diphtheria, Tetanus and Polio (DTP), supported by general practitioners (GPs) and community pharmacies.