Copenhagen, Jul 15 (IANS): Approximately 240,000 Danes aged between 12 and 15 will be offered a Covid-19 vaccination "in the next few days"m the Danish Health Authority (SST) said in a statement.

"We now have a more contagious virus variant, and we, therefore, need immunity in the population," Xinhua news agency quoted Bolette Soborg, the SST's unit manager of contingency and infectious diseases, as saying in the statement issued on Wednesday.

"By offering vaccination to children and young people between the ages of 12 and 15, we build immunity in the population, which can help us maintain control of the epidemic and protect those who are at particular risk."

The decision came following the approval for the Covid-19 vaccine of Pfizer-BioNTech to be used on children from 12 years by the the Danish Health and Medicines Authority in May.

The decision of whether to accept the offer of a vaccine can be made by the 15 year-olds themselves, according to the SST.

However, for a child under the age of 15, it is the parent's decision.

"We are now entering the crucial last phase, where the only thing left now is that everyone who is invited will book their time for vaccination," said Soborg.

According to the statement, everyone in Denmark over the age of 16 has already been offered vaccination against Covid-19.

The Statens Serum Institut (SSI) on Wednesday registered 1,202 new coronavirus cases, which is the highest daily number of infections since May 21.

To date, a total of 302,328 coronavirus cases and 2,539 deaths have been recorded in the country since the beginning of the pandemic.