Bermuda will not start Covid-19 vaccines for children aged under 11 until the Government gets the green light from the UK, it was revealed last night.

Ayo Oyinloye, the chief medical officer, said that the US Food and Drug Administration had authorised the use of the Pfizer vaccine for emergency use in children aged from 5 to 11.

But Dr Oyinloye added that an agreement with the UK government required Bermuda to follow UK practices.

He said that Bermuda would offer the vaccine to the age group once the UK authorised it, but that had not happened yet.

Dr Oyinloye added the FDA authorisation came after Pfizer tested the vaccine in more than 5,000 children in the age group and produced similar levels of efficiency as it did in older age groups.

He said the children’s vaccine was about a third of the dose administered to adults.

Dr Oyinloye added 180 children in the age group were infected in the fourth wave of the coronavirus.

He said none of them required hospitalisation, but the number of cases was almost four times higher than was reported in the third wave, when 54 children in the age group tested positive.

Dr Oyinloye said: “That’s something that is of concern to us.”