SCOTLAND’S coronavirus vaccination programme looks set to be rolled out to 16 and 17-year-olds.
Nicola Sturgeon said she was "veering towards expecting" the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) would soon outline updated guidance for young people having the jag.
It is anticipated that ministers will approve advice today which recommends teenagers over the age of 16 who have not yet been able to get their vaccine will be offered the chance to be immunised.
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Under existing guidance, young people aged 16 to 17 with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious Covid infection should have already been offered a jab.
Children aged 12 to 15 with certain conditions which make them vulnerable to coronavirus can also access the vaccine, as can those aged 12 to 17 who live with an immunosuppressed person, such as a parent or grandparent.
But The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mail, and The Times all reported that this would now be extended to all 16 and 17-year-olds, of which there are around 1.4 million in the UK according to the Office for National Statistics.
The Times reported that appointments could be available within a fortnight due to the reserves of the vaccine available, while The Daily Telegraph said they would be given the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine, to match the guidance for other young adults.
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Legal requirements being lifted include physical distancing measures and limits on gatherings.
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Speaking to MSPs at her pandemic update, the First Minister had suggested the decision could come within days.
She said: "We are waiting on JCVI advice. When I say 'we', I am obviously referring to the Scottish Government, but the UK, Welsh and Northern Irish governments are in the same position."
Sturgeon explained the four chief medical officers across the UK had written to the JCVI asking them to look again at vaccination advice for young people.
She said: "First, as a priority, I am particularly hopeful that we will see updated recommendations for 16 and 17-year-olds.
"I am hoping for – possibly veering towards expecting – updated advice from the JCVI in the next day or so."
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Public health experts such as Scottish Government adviser Professor Devi Sridhar have previously urged ministers to extend the vaccine rollout to all youngsters.
She said last month: “If we want schools to continue without disruption in the autumn and lift restrictions so children can have a normal experience, we need to vaccinate them, and if we wait and watch for the evidence it will be too late in the next few weeks."
She added: “Children can still get long Covid and can still be chronically ill from this.
“Given that we know children can transmit, where we are going to see problems going forward is not going to be in care homes, it’s not going to be in hospitals, it’s going to be in schools, because this is where you’re going to see large groups of unvaccinated kids together, and we are going to have outbreaks.
“We might as well just do it, roll it out in the summer, get those kids covered so secondary schools can go back, normally, this autumn.
“I think it’d be a huge shame for backing blended learning or having kids doing home learning in the autumn.”
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