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Britain decided Monday to offer COVID-19 vaccines to children 12 and up, as the government gambled that expanded vaccination and mild tweaks to social behaviour can avert the need for lockdowns in the winter, The Associated Press reported. 

Vaccinations for children and booster shots for at-risk adults are part of a “tool kit” to control COVID-19 infections this fall and winter that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will announce Tuesday at a news conference.

On Monday, the chief medical officers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland recommended that children aged 12 to 15 be given a single dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine, despite the government’s vaccine advisors saying this month that the step would have only marginal health benefits.

Health Minister Sajid Javid said the government had accepted the recommendation. Vaccinations are to start next week.

The chief medical officers said Monday that vaccination would help limit transmission of the virus in schools and help children’s mental health by reducing disruption to education.

England Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said vaccinating kids was “an important, potentially useful additional tool” in the fight against the virus.