Covid-19: More than 50,000 12-15s register for vaccine

More than 50,000 children in the Republic of Ireland aged between 12 and 15 have signed up to get a Covid-19 vaccine.

Registrations opened for the age group on Thursday.

The Irish Health Service Executive (HSE) said more than 42,000 children had been signed up by mid-morning, Irish broadcaster RTÉ reported.

Around 280,000 children will be eligible for immunisation with a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine.

Children need consent from a parent or guardian, either when registering online, or at the vaccination centre.

Those eligible can get the jab at vaccination centres and some pharmacies or GPs.

HSE chief executive Paul Reid said: "Very encouragingly, by mid-morning this morning, over 42,000 children aged 12 to 15 have been registered on the online system."

He said this is likely to be the last age group in the vaccination campaign.

The HSE said that it will try to facilitate working parents with later appointment times.

The National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC) made the recommendation to extend the country's vaccination programme in July.

The HSE has asked parents to study the expert advice on vaccination for this group and make a decision from there as to what is best for their child.

Parents and guardians have been asked to discuss the vaccination process with their children.

Last week it was announced 16 and 17-year-olds in Northern Ireland would be offered the vaccine.

Currently in Northern Ireland only children with specific underlying health conditions and who are at risk of serious illness from the virus are offered the Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine.

Former education minister Peter Weir has said the programme should be extended to all children over the age of 12 in Northern Ireland.

As of Wednesday, a total of 6,192,071 Covid-19 vaccines had been administered in the Republic of Ireland.

Of those, 3,447,303 were first doses and 2,744,768 were second doses.

The total number of deaths linked to Covid-19 in the Republic of Ireland since the start of the pandemic stands at 5,044.

A total of 317,204 people in the Republic of Ireland have had a confirmed diagnosis of the virus since the pandemic began.