DUBLIN: The Health Service Executive has confirmed that around 65,000 children between the ages of 12 and 15 have been registered to receive COVID-19 vaccines. The vaccine portal for this age group went live on Wednesday night, with 50,000 people registering on the first day. HSE Chief Executive Paul Reid said children will begin receiving their first doses this weekend.
The majority of 12- to 15-year-olds who signed up for the vaccination did so using the HSE’s online portal, with a small number registering through a HSE call centre.
Parents and guardians can now register for a COVID-19 vaccine for their children. The consent of at least one parent or legal guardian will be required when registering online or at the vaccination centre.
When a parent registers their child on the HSE portal, they will receive a text message with a link that allows them to approve parental consent. Parental consent is a mandatory, and if you do not provide consent online, or register for a vaccine over the phone, whoever is accompanying the child to a vaccination centre will need to confirm consent there.
This age group comprises 280,000 children. Evening and weekend vaccination clinics will also be available in an effort to accelerate the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out. Children can receive their Pfizer or Moderna vaccine dose at an HSE vaccination centre, as well as participating pharmacies or GPs.
The HSE asked parents to look at all the advice on vaccination for this group. Meanwhile, Dr Ronan Glynn, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, said that children aged 12 to 15 who have underlying medical conditions or live with vulnerable people should be also vaccinated.
Dr Glynn said that only a small percentage of those who develop COVID-19 after receiving the vaccine will have serious complications, and the vast majority of those who contract the disease will only have mild symptoms, with others recovering.
Paul Reid described Ireland’s overall vaccine uptake as “phenomenal,” with 6.82 million vaccine doses administered so far.
Kindly click the link below to join WhatsApp group chat to get important news and breaking news from Irish Samachar