UK: More than 220,000 children inoculated with first dose of Covid vaccine
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Till now, children under 18 who have special medical conditions, living with people who have vulnerable immunity and have their 18th birthday approaching soon were eligible for the Covid vaccine in the UK
A little after the UK government opened vaccination for young people, more than 220,000 children in the country have had the first dose of coronavirus vaccine, as per official figures.
NHS data shows that till July 25 more than 223,755 children under the age of 18 have received the first dose of coronavirus vaccine. In total, 79,616 children have had both doses of the vaccine.
This news has come as the local media reported that the government might soon open vaccination for 16 and 17-year-old children in the country. Till now, children under 18 who have special medical conditions, living with people who have vulnerable immunity and have their 18th birthday approaching soon were eligible for the Covid vaccine.
However, a local media agency, PA, has reported that some 16 and 17-year-olds are also being vaccinated against the deadly coronavirus on the basis of walk-in appointments. The condition in these cases is that the child should be accompanied by their parent or legal guardian.
This figure has been revealed at a time when the country is observing a surge in Delta variant cases of coronavirus — a variant of concern that can also target young people and children in the future.
While the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been approved for use in children between the ages of 17 and 12, a debate has been going on in different parts of the world where people are divided on the subject of whether children should be vaccinated right now or not. Some people feel it is morally incorrect to vaccinate children, who are at low risk of getting infected when millions of vulnerable middle-aged people are at risk in third-world countries. However, some other people also feel that it is important to safeguard and protect children before some new variant targets the future generation of this Earth.