States assessing jabs for 16-17 year olds

‘The States of Guernsey is aware of the statement made by the JCVI and the UK government,’ a spokesman said.

‘We will now assess the requirements for children who meet the criteria as set out by the JCVI and will provide an update on how this will be deployed in the Bailiwick as soon as possible.’

The States said the island’s vaccination programme was nearing completion, with all those over the age of 18 having been offered a vaccine.

The programme is now seeing a smaller number of people attend vaccine clinics. And as a result, the Community Vaccination Centre has relocated from Beau Sejour’s Sir John Loveridge Hall to the smaller Dave Ferguson Hall across the concourse.

The States is currently vaccinating all adults over the age of 18. As of Friday, a total of 95,738 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered.

More than 84% of the population over 18 in Guernsey have had both doses of the vaccine.

‘The next phase of the programme to include 16 and 17 year olds and a very small cohort of children who are considered to be extremely vulnerable by the JCVI can also be accommodated in the smaller space,’ a spokesman said.

The JCVI said it was confident that one dose of the vaccine would afford young people around 80% protection against hospitalisation.

‘Prioritising the first dose and delaying the recommendation on the second allows the JCVI to provide the best available advice with the latest available information for the second dose, while providing some immediate protection from severe disease,’ it said.

As of Friday, there are 56 known and active cases of Covid-19 in the Bailiwick. Nine new cases have been identified – five of which are contacts of other cases, two are community cases, and two are travel related. Four people have recovered.

The States is asking people not to contact Public Health services with requests to vaccinate children.