Thousands of under-15s will be offered the COVID-19 jab at school, with NHS teams visiting more than 800 schools.

Health teams are set to visit schools across England in the next week, with pupils returning to school from half-term.

Jabs will be offered to unvaccinated 12-15-year-olds and students will be able to get the coronavirus vaccines at school, NHS England said.

Children can also make an appointment to visit a vaccine centre using the booking system.

More than 600,000 young people have been vaccinated since the jab rollout was extended to include 12-15-year-olds at the end of September, NHS England said.

Some 163,00 people in the age group took the jab in the week the booking system opened up for them on 22 October.

A further 140,000 have booked their jab for the next few weeks.

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The government is making a push to get as many people vaccinated before the winter months set in.

Speaking from the G20 summit in Rome, Boris Johnson said that he does not anticipate another lockdown but urged over-50s to take the booster jab amid rising cases in England.

On 29 October, the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) said the high number of cases in schools where only some are vaccinated “provide the ideal conditions” for a new variant to emerge.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: “The vaccines are safe and will help keep children in the classroom – I encourage everyone to come forward for their jab to protect themselves and the people around them.”

Dr Nikki Kanani, GP and deputy lead for the NHS COVID-19 vaccine programme, said: “As our children return to the classroom, our efforts to vaccinate children will not stop – hundreds of more schools will be vaccinating this week.

“It’s really important that we continue with the same enthusiasm if we want to ensure children get to stay in the classroom with their fellow pupils this winter, and so I encourage all parents and guardians to head online and read the information on vaccinating your child, so you can make an informed decision.”

Pupils are also being urged to get tested for coronavirus before returning to school to minimise disruption to lessons and to ensure families can “enjoy the best” of the festive season.

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