Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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551. To ask the Minister for Health when children between 12 to 16 years of age who are vaccinated over three months will receive their Covid-19 booster vaccination. [3024/22]

Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
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598. To ask the Minister for Health when booster vaccines will be made available to the 12 to 15 years of age cohort who have underlying health conditions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3172/22]

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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629. To ask the Minister for Health if children aged 12 to 15 years of age living with an immunocompromised person will be prioritised for boosters; if the National Immunisation Advisory Committee recommends booster vaccination for this age cohort; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3391/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 551, 598 and 629 together.

The immunisation programme in Ireland is based on the advice of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC). The NIAC makes recommendations on vaccination policy to my Department based on the prevalence of the relevant disease in Ireland and international best practices in relation to immunisation.

The NIAC has recommended that a booster dose of an mRNA vaccine (irrespective of whether the primary vaccination course was of an mRNA or adenoviral vector) be offered to those aged 16 years and older with the rollout now underway. The NIAC will continue to examine emerging evidence regarding booster vaccines and will make further recommendations if required.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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552. To ask the Minister for Health if children with complex medical needs are included in the high-risk category for Covid-19 vaccination; and the person or body that determines high risk categories. [3025/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The immunisation programme in Ireland is based on the advice of the National Immunisation Advisory Committee (NIAC). The NIAC makes recommendations on vaccination policy to my Department based on the prevalence of the relevant disease in Ireland and international best practices in relation to immunisation.

On the 15th November, the NIAC recommended a booster dose of COVID-19 vaccination for persons aged 16-59 years with certain underlying conditions for whom there is an increased risk of hospitalisation following SARS-CoV-2 infection.

You can view the aforementioned NIAC reccomendation below:

rcpi-live-cdn.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/NIAC_Recommendations-on-booster-doses-of-COVID-19-vaccine-for-healthcare-workers16-59-years-with-underlying-conditions-and-all-those-50-59-years.pdf.pdf

The NIAC develops guidance for the use of COVID-19 vaccines and these are published in the Immunisation Guidelines for Ireland. These guidelines are continuously updated and include guidance on all new vaccines as they are approved for use in Ireland. The underlying conditions associated with very high or high risk of severe COVID-19 are set out in Chapter 5a of the Immunisation Guidelines.

You can view the Immunisation Guidelines below:

www.hse.ie/eng/health/immunisation/hcpinfo/guidelines/covid19.pdf