PARENTS in the North East can now book their Covid jabs for their children online - as appointments will begin from tomorrow.

The national NHS booking system has today opened for parents to book a Covid vaccine for children aged between 12 and 15 at a mass vaccination site.

It comes after the Government allowed children to be vaccinated at an adult site following concerns schools were running out of supplies.

Read more: 12 to 15 year olds in England to be allowed Covid jab at walk-in sites

On Friday, the NHS said parents would be able to book an appointment at their local site using the same system many adults have been using to obtain their vaccine.

In the North East, there are mass vaccination sites in Darlington, Durham, Hexham, Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Newcastle.

However, the NHS has stressed that if a child has been invited through their school, parents do not need to book unless they want to be vaccinated outside of school.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid had previously said the move would “make the most of half-term”.

Millions of letters are set to be sent to parents over the coming weeks, inviting them to book the vaccine online or by calling 119.

'Providing parents with extra choice'

Mr Javid said: “I’m delighted we are expanding our vaccination programme to allow parents or guardians to book Covid-19 vaccine appointments for their children at vaccination centres across the country.

“This will support the vaccine rollout, ensure young people can get their jabs when it’s convenient including during half-term – providing parents with extra choice over where and when their child is vaccinated.”

Headteachers’ unions last week called for vaccines to be offered to pupils in walk-in centres, as well as school, after figures revealed the scale of the low take-up of the Covid-19 jab among the cohort.

Data from the Department for Education shows the number of children out of school for Covid related reasons in England has risen recently.

The DfE estimates that 2.6 percent of all pupils –around 209,000 children – were not in class for reasons connected to coronavirus on Thursday last week.

This is up from more than 204,000 children, or 2.5 percent of all pupils, on September 30.

How to book a jab for your child

Parents can book a vaccine for their child via the national booking system on the NHS website.

It states that children aged 12 to 15 will be given one dose of Pfizer, while some children and young people aged 12 to 17 and 8 months old will be eligible for a 2nd dose.

Parents of children under 16 will need to provide a consent form which is available by clicking here before proceeding with their child's vaccination.

You can book an appointment for your child here