All those aged 12 to 15 are to be offered COVID-19 boosters under new plans.

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has accepted the recommendations from the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC).

It has recommended that a booster dose of Pfizer/BioNTech be given at an interval of six months or longer since completion of the main vaccinations.

For those aged 12 to 15 years, who have had COVID, the booster should be deferred for at least six months following the onset of infection.

While primary vaccination with mRNA vaccines has been authorised by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for this age group, there is no such authorisation for a booster dose.

An exterior view of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands in December 2020. Picture by: Paulo Amorim/SIPA USA/PA Images

An application to authorise Pfizer/BioNTech as a booster for those aged 12 is currently being assessed by the EMA.

The Department of Health says it and the HSE will ensure that "special attention is paid to the provision of support and guidance information as part of the informed consent process for children and young people and their parents/guardians."

Minister Donnelly says: "In adults, a booster dose with an mRNA vaccine significantly improves protection against severe outcomes, symptomatic diseases and infection from the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

"NIAC have indicated that vaccine efficacy against symptomatic infection and hospitalisation was restored to 60-75% and 90% respectively, two to four weeks after administration of a booster in the adult population."

He adds: "Evidence from Israel's booster programme shows a significant reduction in the confirmed rate of infection in children and young people aged 12-15 years following the booster dose, compared to those of the same age who were vaccinated with the primary series five to six months earlier."

He also says while the benefits vaccination are clear, a reduction in rate of infection is important "as Ireland removes some of the last public health restrictions in place."

Main image: A teenage girl receives a dose of Covid-19 vaccine at a vaccination centre in Barcelona, Spain in December 2021. Picture by: Sipa USA / Alamy Stock Photo