Age 12-15 COVID-19 vaccination

Individuals aged 12 years or above at higher risk of severe COVID-19 infection.

This includes those with:

• severe neuro-disability and/or neuromuscular conditions that compromise respiratory function. This includes conditions (such as cerebral palsy, autism and muscular dystrophy) that may affect swallowing and protection of the upper airways, leading to aspiration, and reduce the ability to cough and resulting overall in increased susceptibility to respiratory infection
• children and young adults with learning disability (LD), including: individuals with Down’s syndrome
• those who are on the learning disability register
• those with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) or severe LD
• immunosuppression due to disease or treatment, including: patients undergoing chemotherapy leading to immunosuppression, patients undergoing radical radiotherapy, solid organ transplant recipients, bone marrow or stem cell transplant recipients, HIV infection at all stages or genetic disorders affecting the immune system (e.g. IRAK-4, NEMO, complement disorder, SCID)
• individuals who are receiving immunosuppressive or immunomodulating biological therapy including, but not limited to, anti-TNF, alemtuzumab, ofatumumab, rituximab, patients receiving protein kinase inhibitors or PARP inhibitors, and individuals treated with steroid sparing agents such as cyclophosphamide and mycophenolate mofetil
• individuals treated with or likely to be treated with systemic steroids for more than a month at a dose equivalent to prednisolone at 20mg per day (or for children under 20kg body weight a dose of 1mg/kg or more per day).
• anyone with a history of haematological malignancy, including leukaemia, lymphoma, and myeloma and those with auto-immune diseases who may require long term immunosuppressive treatments

Individuals aged over 12 years who are contacts of immunosuppressed individuals

Those aged 12 years and above who expect to share living accommodation on most days (and therefore for whom continuing close contact is unavoidable) with individuals of any age who are immunosuppressed as defined:

Immunosuppression due to disease or treatment, including patients undergoing chemotherapy leading to immunosuppression, patients undergoing radical radiotherapy, solid organ transplant recipients, bone marrow or stem cell transplant recipients, HIV infection at all stages, multiple myeloma or genetic disorders affecting the immune system (e.g. IRAK-4, NEMO, complement disorder, SCID).

Individuals who are receiving immunosuppressive or immunomodulating biological therapy including, but not limited to, anti-TNF, alemtuzumab, ofatumumab, rituximab, patients receiving protein kinase inhibitors or PARP inhibitors, and individuals treated with steroid sparing agents such as cyclophosphamide and mycophenolate mofetil.

Individuals treated with or likely to be treated with systemic steroids for more than a month at a dose equivalent to prednisolone at 20mg or more per day for adults.

Anyone with a history of haematological malignancy, including leukaemia, lymphoma, and myeloma and those with systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis, and psoriasis who may require long term immunosuppressive treatments.

Most of the more severely immunosuppressed individuals in this group should already be flagged as CEV. Individuals who are not yet on the CEV list but who are about to receive highly immunosuppressive interventions or those whose level of immunosuppression is about to increase may be therefore be offered vaccine alongside the CEV group, if therapy can be safely delayed or there is sufficient time (ideally two weeks) before therapy commences.