''Toolkit'' launched by the PHA to encourage vaccine uptake in children

By Q Radio News

A Covid-19 vaccine online information "toolkit" has been launched by the Public Health Agency here to encourage uptake among children.

According to the PHA less than two per cent of children aged 5 to 11 have received the vaccine.

Dr Jillian Johnston, Joint Interim Assistant Director in Health Protection at the PHA says the 'toolkit is to provide a central point of access to materials and resources' to promote COVID-19 vaccination.

She said: ''The purpose of this toolkit is to provide a central point of access to materials and resources for individuals and organisations seeking to promote COVID-19 vaccination within their local communities.”

They PHA says the resources on the online information hub are not intended to be used for the purpose of providing clinical advice, but to support the design and implementation of interventions to improve COVID-19 vaccine uptake.

Dr Johnston continued by saying:

“Since the start of the COVID-19 vaccinations in December 2020 uptake has varied across the target groups; the most recent group to be eligible for vaccination is the 5 to 11 year olds.

''It has only been a couple of months but we haven’t seen the initial surge that other groups experienced, and to date only 1.39% have taken up the offer.

''There are several possible reasons for this, for example parents worrying about the safety of the vaccine vs benefit of being vaccinated, or just simply not knowing where to get their child vaccinated.''

The PHA adds that it will be a platform for parents to seek support by giving them the correct information about the vaccine.

The toolkit is broken down by age and specific groups such as pregnant woman and minority communities, allowing organisations to find the resources they need to support individuals to make an informed decision about getting vaccinated.

The COVID-19 vaccination toolkit can be found at https://www.covidvaccinetoolkitni.info/