British authorities approve COVID vaccination for children aged 12 and over

The UK government has supported the recommendation of the UK's top doctors to vaccinate healthy children aged 12 to 15 with a single dose of Pfizer/BioNTech, Sky News reports, citing Vaccine Minister Nadeem Zahavi.

Speaking in the House of Commons, Zahavi said that the authorities will begin to implement this measure "with the same urgency as in relation to other phases of the vaccination program."

The Guardian clarifies that while the vaccination was approved by the authorities in England, it will begin next week. Similar announcements are expected from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The chief medical officers of the British regions have previously said that vaccination of children aged 12 to 15 years will reduce the transmission of covid-19 in schools. As expected, vaccinations will be done in educational institutions, while we are talking about only one dose of the drug. Consent to vaccination will have to be given by parents, while, as the HEAD of the Ministry of HEALTH, Sajid Javad, promised earlier, "the last word will remain with the children."