Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of giving (1) children under five years old, and (2) adults under 50 years old, access to COVID-19 vaccines.

The Government continues to be guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on who should be offered COVID-19 vaccinations. On 6 December 2022, the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency approved the COVID-19 vaccine Pfizer infant formulation (Comirnaty 3) for children aged six months to four years old. The JCVI’s advice will be published in due course on whether COVID-19 vaccination should be offered to any children in this age group now that a vaccine is available.

People who were five years old or older as of 31 August 2022 are currently eligible for primary vaccination and those aged 16 or over are also entitled to an initial booster. Those who are at higher risk of serious outcomes from COVID-19 are eligible for a further seasonal booster under the current autumn campaign.

The autumn booster campaign will close in England on 12 February 2023, as will the offer of an initial booster for persons aged 16 to 49 years who are not in a clinical risk group. We encourage everyone currently eligible to come forward before these offers close.

In line with the JCVI’s advice, the primary course offer of COVID-19 vaccination will now move towards a more targeted offer limited to vaccination campaigns for those at higher risk of severe COVID-19. This means that the offer of primary vaccination will end for those aged under 50 who are not in an at-risk group. The Government is considering when during 2023 this recommendation should be implemented. The JCVI continues to review evidence and will provide further advice regarding the 2023 vaccination programmes in due course.