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First, second and booster covid jabs will be offered in secondary schools and colleges around the island again from this Friday.
Parents and carers of students aged 12 to 18 who are eligible for the vaccine will receive leaflets about the vaccination programme from each school.
First doses were firstly offered in schools in November last year. In total, 455 first vaccination doses were given across 13 schools.
The Government announced today that 12- to 15-year-olds have now reached a 50% first dose uptake.
Health Minister Deputy Richard Renouf commented: “Following the success of the initial school covid-19 vaccination rollout last year which administered only first doses, the Vaccination Team will be revisiting schools a second time round with first, second and booster doses.”
"I urge those who have not yet had their first dose to use this opportunity at school to get it.”
Students aged 16 and above can complete a vaccination consent form for themselves before returning it to their school, whereas parents and carers of students aged between 12 and 15 who consent to having their child vaccinated must return a form on their behalf at the earliest opportunity.
Although most students will be offered their second dose, those who are over 16 and who have already received it will be able to receive the booster if the required interval between doses or a recent covid infection is complete.
“Two doses of the covid vaccine are universally recommended to children aged 12 and over,” Deputy Medical Officer of Health, Dr Ivan Muscat MBE, added, “and booster doses are recommended to all children aged 16 and over."
"Being up to date with your vaccination schedule is vital to reduce your chance of catching covid-19 and preventing severe illness which may lead to hospitalisation or long covid.”
Earlier this week, contact tracing was removed from all education settings, with students instead encouraged to take a daily lateral flow test to identify infections at an early stage.
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