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Ministers were last night under growing pressure to boost the uptake of Covid jabs among school pupils following a surge in classroom infections.
Cases among under-18s are ‘higher than ever’, according to the respected Zoe Covid Study – raising fears they could pass it to high-risk older relatives.
Just 20.7 per cent of those aged 12 to 15 in England have been vaccinated in the month since the NHS started its rollout in schools.
Ministers had hoped to vaccinate all pupils by half term.
Teaching unions described their ‘extreme frustration’ with the slow pace of the programme, which they said had been plagued with problems.
Cases among under-18s are ‘higher than ever’ and just 20.7 per cent of those aged 12 to 15 in England have been vaccinated since the NHS started its rollout in schools (stock image)
Teachers have complained of too few vaccinators to meet demand and teams turning up without enough doses, while ‘inconsistent messaging’ from Government advisers has fuelled a degree of hesitancy among parents.
Ministers last week opened up online booking systems to 12 to 15-year-olds, allowing parents to take them to vaccination centres. But not every clinic is able to cater for children.
Geoff Barton, of the Association of School and College Leaders,
