Covid vaccine registration is now open for 12 to 15 year olds, with the rollout beginning this weekend.
Their parents can sign them up online or by phone - and an adult must accompany the child to the vaccination centre.
Parental consent will also be needed on the day of the jab, or beforehand online.
All set for 12-15 y.o. vaccinations.@HSEImm @HSELive @ICGPnews @IMO_IRL pic.twitter.com/t0gosskcI4
— 𝔻𝕣 𝕄𝕚𝕜𝕖 𝕋𝕙𝕠𝕞𝕡𝕤𝕠𝕟 🟥 (@Eastcorkclinsoc) August 11, 2021
Good To Start Before Back To School
Assistant professor of virology in UCD, Gerald Barry, says it's positive the programme's going ahead before schools reopen:
"Teenagers can be infected by this and can transit it probably as effectively as adults can."
"So putting children back into classrooms in secondary schools, in a similar situation before summer."
"It's not quite the same as before summer because we're dealing with a much more transmissible version of the virus than we had before."
"So even without vaccination, even one shot, the risk would be much higher."
The vaccine portal is open at this website.