Health authorities in England will offer the Covid-19 vaccination to babies aged over six months and children under five for the first time.
Clinically vulnerable children aged six months to four years should be offered the shot, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has said.
Although children are usually at a low risk of becoming severely ill from coronavirus, those who have underlying medical conditions are seven times more likely to be admitted to paediatric intensive care units.
Parents are being warned that the virus is not going away.
"For the vast majority of infants and children, Covid-19 causes only mild symptoms, or sometimes no symptoms," said Prof Wei Shen Lim, chairman of the JCVI’s Covid-19 committee.
“However, for a small group of children with pre-existing health conditions it can lead to more serious illness and, for them, vaccination is the best way to increase their protection.”
Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at the UK Health Security Agency, said: “Covid-19 is still in circulation, with thousands of new cases reported every week.
“The extra protection offered by the vaccine could be important for young children in clinical risk groups who are at greater risk of severe illness.
“The virus is not going away so I would encourage all parents to bring their child forward if they are eligible.
"Parents should wait to be contacted by their local health professionals.”
Three years on from first Covid-19 death - in pictures
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A man wearing a facemask in Dubai in April 2020, shortly after the first outbreak. Pawan Singh / The National -
Staff from the Wuhan Hygiene Emergency Response Team conduct searches on the closed Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China, at the start of the outbreak on January 11, 2020. AFP -
A security guard sits outside the closed Huanan market in Wuhan, Hubei province. Getty Images -
A notice displayed near a quarantine control station at Narita Airport, Japan, in January 2020. EPA -
An empty Times Square after a coronavirus lockdown was ordered in New York City, March 18, 2020. Reuters -
A nurse wearing PPE comforts another as they change shifts on March 13, 2020 at Cremona Hospital, north-eastern Italy. AFP -
Sanitation workers from Tadweer on the first day of the UAE cleaning campaign in March 2020. Victor Besa / The National -
The pedestrian crossing on Hamdan and Fatima Bint Mubarak Street is sprayed on March 27, 2020. Victor Besa / The National -
A commuter enters the sterilisation area at the entrance of the Abu Dhabi Central Bus Terminal in March 2020. Victor Besa / The National -
Travellers returning to Kuwait from Egypt, Syria and Lebanon arrive to be re-tested at a containment and screening zone in Kuwait City on March 16, 2020. AFP -
Al Wadha Mall in Abu Dhabi reopens in May 2020 with measures in place to protect shoppers. Victor Besa / The National -
Safety reminders at Dubai International Airport after the resumption of scheduled operations by Emirates on May 22, 2020. AFP -
A delivery driver wearing a face mask in downtown Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National -
Passengers of an Emirates flight prepare to board a plan to Sydney at Dubai International Airport. AFP -
Systems put in place at a supermarket in Dubai to slow the spread of the coronavirus. AFP
The authority said more than one million children aged six months to four years in America have received at least one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 shot since June 2022.
Data from the US showed the most common side-effects reported were similar to those with other vaccines in this age group, such as irritability or crying, sleepiness and fever.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in the UK first authorised use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for children aged six months to four years in December last year.
After that authorisation, the JCVI has advised that children in this age group who are in a clinical risk group should be offered the vaccine.
The committee does not advise vaccination of children aged six months to four years if they are not in a vulnerable group.
Eligible children should be offered two doses of the vaccine, with an interval of eight to 12 weeks.
The National Health Service England has confirmed it will begin offering vaccinations to those eligible in England from mid-June.
