THE COVID-19 vaccination programme among young people in Warrington is an ongoing success, with all local high schools completing at least one vaccination session.
All young people aged 12 to 15 will be offered a first dose of vaccine – and this will reduce the chance of their becoming seriously ill if they develop COVID-19 and will provide good protection from one dose.
Like all medicines, no vaccine is completely effective – some people may still have a COVID-19 infection despite having a vaccination, but it may be less severe.
Vaccinating people aged 12 to 15 can also reduce transmission of COVID-19 to young people and other people around them, including within schools, which will help to minimise any further disruption to education.
The vaccine is an additional choice for parents and young people to help protect themselves and their loved ones from the virus.
Vaccines will continue to be offered via the School-aged Immunisation Team for those children who have not yet been vaccinated.
The national booking service is also open for people aged 12 to 15 as another option to get vaccine out of school, and appointments can be booked online via the NHS website. If a child has already been invited in school or booked an appointment at a community clinic via the School-aged Immunisation Team, they can continue to be vaccinated there.
Warrington’s Director of Public Health, Thara Raj, said: “Coronavirus rates continue to increase in school aged children, so the COVID-19 vaccine will help to stop this spread and minimise any further disruption to schools and learning by reducing the number of children that will have to be sent home.
“For this reason, I’m happy to report that the vaccination programme for people aged 12 to 15 years is continuing successfully in Warrington, with a high percentage of children already taking up the offer.
“Ultimately the decision is what is best for your child’s health and we will continue working to make sure parents and children have the information they need to make the choice about whether they receive the vaccine.
“Of course the vaccine is only part of a wider set of COVID safety measures, which includes regular symptom-free testing, voluntary wearing of masks in busy public areas, and continuing to social distance wherever possible.”
Jayne Wood, vaccination director for the Cheshire and Merseyside Health Care Partnership, said: “It’s good to see encouraging uptake and we need to keep this momentum to ensure the success of the vaccination programme in Warrington.
“This is the biggest and most complex vaccination programme undertaken in the history of the NHS and our teams are working extremely hard to deliver this programme in all of our secondary schools.
“The vaccine is safe and effective and I would strongly encourage any parent or carer to read the information they are sent with their child’s invite and make an informed decision together about getting vaccinated so that they can protect themselves and their families ahead of the winter period.”
For more information about the COVID-19 vaccine, visit: warrington.gov.uk/covidvaccine
