All children aged five to 11 in the UK will be offered a low dose of a COVID vaccine, the Health Secretary has confirmed.
After the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) yesterday updated its vaccination advice for children aged 5 to 11, with a view to increasing protection against potential future waves COVID-19, Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said the that the NHS in England will “prepare to extend this non-urgent offer to all children during April”.
He confirmed that the UK government’s vaccine advisory body had recommended the jab rollout be expanded, and that ministers will follow the new advice.
Almost six million children across the UK will now be eligible for the vaccine.
The JCVI said the move is being made “with a view to increasing protection against potential future waves of COVID-19”.
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The NHS will make a non-urgent offer of the #COVID19 vaccine to all children aged 5-11 in England during April.
This follows new advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
More info 🔽
— Department of Health and Social Care (@DHSCgovuk) February 16, 2022
The vaccine advisory body said that while five to 11-year-olds are “generally at very low risk of serious illness from the virus”, a “very small number of children who get infected do develop severe disease”, and this is why it has made the decision to expand the vaccine rollout.
The JCVI are advising that all five to 11-year-olds are given two 10mcg doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine – which is one third the strength of an adult vaccine.
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There should be interval of at least 12 weeks between the two doses.
Speaking on the JCVI recommendations and confirming the vaccine rollout expansion in a statement delivered yesterday, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: “The JCVI advice follows a thorough review by our independent medicines regulator, the MHRA, which approved Pfizer’s paediatric vaccine as safe and effective for children aged five to 11.
“Children without underlying health conditions are at low risk of serious illness from COVID-19 and the priority remains for the NHS to offer vaccines and boosters to adults and vulnerable young people, as well as to catch-up with other childhood immunisation programmes.
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“[But] the NHS will prepare to extend this non-urgent offer to all children during April.
“So parents can, if they want, take up the offer to increase protection against potential future waves of COVID-19 as we learn to live with this virus.”
The JCVI updated its vaccination advice for children aged 5 to 11 / Credit: Christian Emmer (via Unsplash)
The news that all children aged five to 11 are to be offered the vaccine comes after clinically vulnerable children of the same age, or those who live with someone who is immunosuppressed, have already been offered the vaccine throughout the UK.
This was after the JCVI updated its guidance back in December 2021.
The age group above, 12 to 15-year-olds, started getting their first vaccines in England at the end of September, and have been able to get their second jab from just before Christmas as long as their first was at least 12 weeks before.
Acclaimed Manchester cocktail bar named one of UK’s best quietly closes its doors
Emily Sergeant
An acclaimed Manchester cocktail bar that was formerly named one of the best in the UK has quietly closed its doors for good.
Tucked away beneath the former set of Coronation Street in the Old Granada Studios complex, and hidden in the basement of Manchester‘s historic 1800s Bonded Warehouse at St. John’s, Project Halcyon Distillery officially opened its doors in 2022 due to COVID-19 pandemic delays – with the intimate venue going on to become a city favourite.
The acclaimed, Speakeasy-style bar drew inspiration from Prohibition-era Chicago, focusing on ‘halcyon days’ of calm and luxury.
It included an on-site distillery used to create bespoke ingredients for its seasonal menu, and beyond cocktails, even featured a so-called ‘Stillroom’ for masterclasses and had private, curtained room dedicated to absinthe, with traditional fountains, called ‘Salon Vert’.
Project Halcyon has quietly closed its doors for good / Credit: Project Halcyon | The Manc Group
But despite its success over the years, and even earning a place in the coveted Top 50 Cocktail Bars in the UK list on several occasions, Project Halcyon has officially – but somewhat quietly – now closed its doors for good.
“It was with sincere regret that due to unexpected challenges at the ownership level we must close our doors for the foreseeable. Though we say goodbye, the memories live on.
“Thank you to everyone who shared in our craft, our community, and our story.”
After the news broke on social media, Project Halcyon’s Instagram post was flooded with dozens of comments showing support for staff members, and remembering the venue as one of their favourite cocktail bars in the city centre.
The nature of some of the comments also prompted Project Halcyon to issue a follow-up statement below addressing concerns over money owed to workers and other partners, adding: “We sincerely hope that anyone who may be owed by the owners of Project Halcyon – past and present team included – receives what they are owed.
“We are not deleting comments and have no interest in doing so. We also cannot control how Instagram manages comment threads. This page is run by the team, not the owners.”
Featured Image – The Manc Group
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‘Hefty’ Foo Fighters ticket prices for surprise Manchester gig divide opinion
Danny Jones
Foo Fighters fans, gig-goers and all-round music lovers in general have been left up in arms after the legendary American rock band announced some surprise shows in the UK and Ireland – including here in Manchester – as ticket prices have labelled ‘shameful’ by some.
In case you missed the news that sent us here in Manchester and all over the nation into bedlam, Foo Fighters recently revealed they would be playing just a handful of shows up and down the country, all at smaller venues than their usual arena tour dates.
Sharing the news fairly last-minute over the weekend, with tickets going on sale this past Sunday and (shock) selling out almost immediately, many have taken issue with the band’s and/or promoters’ approach to the event.
While lots have revelled in the excitement of a show scheduled for this week being dropped on our laps in the eleventh hour, lots of others feel the price point for the tickets is ‘ridiculous’.
Although they’re not quite on the level of the controversial Oasis/Harry Styles sagas, at £99 including all fees, they’re still up there with the most expensive gig tickets venues like these will ever charge.
Most poignantly, the tickets were sold strictly in person via the box office, with fans queuing up outside a trio of venues.
Taking place at the O2 Ritz, which has a capacity of roughly 1,500, the Foo Fighters’ Manchester date is not only one of the most in-demand gigs, but also promises to be one of their sweatiest – and, apparently, most divisive.
For some, this is a very cool bit of marketing and at least an attempt to curb online ticket touts, plus helping support live music spaces directly; on the other hand, the significant fee remains a sticking point they refuse to move past.
Responding in the comments underneath the post by the Ritz, one person wrote: “That ticket price is f****** disgusting. It’s not costing them f*** all to play there, if Harry Styles can play the Co-op Live for £20 then they should”; another simply added, “99 quid is wild, do better.”
Safe to say it has split opinions across the board.
i really want to know who is paying £100 to see foo fighters at o2 academy ritz and what they do for work to justify that
Big fan of the foo fighters but having only in person tickets and then still charging £100 is a joke. Then to move other bands earlier to slot them in isn’t fair
As you can see, it’s also affected other acts set to play these same rooms this month, too.
Others have also doubted whether the ‘face value exchange’ tactic really works all that much, as a few people on social media reported having already found a number of tickets being listed on resale on certain platforms.
What do you make of artists charging these kinds of prices for exclusive one-off shows like this, or the cost of gig tickets in general these days?
Better yet, did any of you succeed in grabbing tickets to see Foo Fighters at the Ritz here in Manchester this Friday, 27 February?
Emily Sergeant -
17th February 2022 
