Britain's vaccine advisers said they were not recommending the universal vaccination of 12- to 15-year-olds against Covid-19, preferring to take a precautionary approach to assess the long-term impacts of rare heart inflammation.
There have been reports of heart inflammation, known as myocarditis, in young people following vaccination with Pfizer's shot, though the condition is usually mild.
Britain's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation said on Friday it was expanding the eligibility for Covid-19 vaccinations to more 12- to 15-year-olds with underlying health conditions than previously, but said the benefits of vaccination for healthy children were likely small.
The programme is being extended from what had been considered the most at-risk children, to include children with chronic major heart, lung, kidney, liver and neurological conditions.
It means about 200,000 more children will be invited for vaccines.
The decision comes exactly a week after the England's Department of Health and Social Care confirmed preparations were under way to ensure the country's health service was ready to offer coronavirus jabs to all 12 to 15-year-olds from early September.
The department said they wanted to be “ready to hit the ground running”.
