London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

Prime Minister says UK must ‘go faster’ with vaccination of 16 and 17-year-olds

Prime Minister says UK must ‘go faster’ with vaccination of 16 and 17-year-olds

The Prime Minister said eligible teenagers were ‘a very important group for potential transmission’
Boris Johnson has said the UK needs to speed up its vaccination of 16 and 17-year olds, despite there being a strong uptake of the jab within the age group.

Figures show that almost two-thirds of 16 and 17-year-olds in Wales have had a first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and half of the age group in England and Scotland have been jabbed.

The Prime Minister said teenagers were “a very important group for potential transmission”.

“I would urge all 16 to 17-year-olds, everybody who knows 16 to 17-year-olds – the numbers are coming up very fast now, it is very encouraging to see more and more 16 to 17-year-olds taking the jab – but we need to go faster with those,” he told reporters at Merville Barracks in Colchester on Thursday.

“There are still some who need that protection and I would just urge everybody who hasn’t yet had a jab to go and get one.”

NHS England said more than 620,000 young people aged 16 and 17 have now been jabbed, less than a month after the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) approved they could be given a first dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

In Wales, 63 per cent of the age group have had one jab, while in Scotland the figure is 51 per cent.

Dr Nikki Kanani, GP and deputy lead for NHS England’s vaccination programme, said: “As school and college terms are due to start back shortly, it is really important that young people continue to come forward for their life-saving vaccine and visit the NHS grab-a-jab finder to find a convenient site, with walk-in vaccinations taking place at nightclubs, university campuses and places of worship this weekend.

“It has never been easier to drop in and get your vaccine: it is safe, effective and will provide vital protection for you and your family and friends.”

Meanwhile, political pressure was building on experts advising on the vaccination of even younger people.

Gavin Williamson has said he hopes a decision on vaccinating 12 to 15-year-olds will be made “very, very soon”.

The Education Secretary said the NHS is ready to go into schools to deliver jabs to that age group “if we get the get-go” from the JCVI.

But JCVI deputy chairman Professor Anthony Harnden said there are “many” arguments for and against jabs for younger children, and the committee – which is independent from Government – will decide “in the children’s best interests” without outside influence.

The Prime Minister also urged older people to come forward for Covid booster jabs ahead of the autumn and winter months, as he confirmed plans to press ahead with a booster scheme.

“The priorities now are the older generation going into autumn and winter, and we have always said there would be a booster programme in September – in this month – and we are going ahead with that,” he said.

Yesterday, the JCVI recommended third doses be given to people with severely weakened immune systems, who are likely to have been unable to mount an immune response from their first two jabs.

It comes as vaccine manufacturer Moderna confirmed it will submit data to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and other regulatory authorities around the world in the coming days on the use of its vaccine for boosters.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×