How many under-16s in Sheffield are getting the Covid-19 vaccine?

However, while the uptake among older teenagers in Sheffield has been close to 50 per cent, it is much lower for those below the age of 15.

In Sheffield, 20.1 per cent of 12-15 year-olds have received their dose of the Covid-19 vaccine. This percentage reflects the fact that 5344 out of the 26,646 children in this age range in Sheffield have been vaccinated.

Children aged 12-15 only need to have a single dose at the moment, and can only receive the jab with parental consent.

This comes following the announcement that school children in England will be able to get a Covid-19 vaccine at a walk-in centre under new plans to speed up the jab rollout for under-16s. Previously vaccines for children of under 16 were only available in schools.

Earlier this month, Sheffield’s Director for Public Health Greg Fell advised parents to give consent for their chikdren to get the jab, but acknowledged that it was up to parents to make ‘an informed decision’.

Mr Fell addressed concerns parents may have about vaccinating children. He said: “The vaccine is safe and approved for use in kids. The benefits hugely outweigh the risks. In my view the risks are being greatly over-exaggerated by some people.

“I think it is the right thing to do to offer the vaccine to children. People need to consider the risks and the benefits in proportion.]

“All vaccines come with some risks and it would be a lie to say that they did not. But there are far more risks from having Covid itself. The vaccines reduces the number of risks.

“Some people are worried about myocarditis, which is an inflammation of the heart. But the risk of getting that from contracting Covid is much higher than it is from getting it from the vaccine. And both are really small risks in the first place.

“But people are entitled to their views, and parents will have their views about their children. I would just encourage people to carefully look at where they get their information from."