Children aged between 6 months – four years old in England are to be offered a covid-19 booster vaccine this spring, if they are considered clinically vulnerable to the virus

The news follows the recommendation from the UK Government’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), opening the opportunity for many children in the TSC community to receive the vaccine.

• Severe, profound or multiple learning disabilities, or on the learning disability register
• Severe neurodisability as a result of epilepsy or autism
• On long-term immunosuppressive treatment (e.g. everolimus or high dose steroids)

Eligible children will be offered two doses of the vaccine, with around 8 – 12 weeks between the first and second doses. Although research shows that children who get covid-19 are much less likely to have more serious symptoms than adults, a high proportion of children who do get very poorly from the virus are in the ‘clinically vulnerable’ group.

NHS England has confirmed it will begin offering vaccinations to those eligible in England from mid-June.

If your child is being offered the vaccine, or if you think that they are eligible, you should speak to your child’s TSC clinician or their GP. The TSA is currently seeking additional information from TSC clinicians and will share this as soon as possible. It’s important that you don’t stop or change medicines or other existing treatments before speaking to a healthcare professional.

More information on the announcement can be found on the UK Government website here.