The Health Secretary has urged parents to get their children vaccinated to “help keep schools open”.
Hundreds of thousands of appointments are available in January for children aged 12 and over, with parents able to book in at around 300 centres or attend one of around 500 walk-in sites.
Teams of vaccinators will also be visiting hundreds of schools to offer jabs as pupils return from the Christmas holidays, NHS England said.
Sajid Javid said that the vaccines would “protect young people from Omicron, help to keep schools open and protect their friends and families.”
“Keeping children in school is so important for their education, health and wellbeing,” Mr Javid said.
“Many young people can get their first or second dose at school, at walk-in sites or parents can book one of the half a million vaccination appointments up for grabs across the country this month.”
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Dr Nikki Kanani, GP and deputy lead for the NHS vaccine programme, also told parents that getting their children jabbed would allow them to “stay in school and continue socialising”.
“I know how much disruption Covid has caused for so many families over the past two years, affecting young people’s lives and education,” she said.
“Getting vaccinated protects them, their family and their friends, letting them stay at school and continue socialising.”
Dr Kanani said that the jab was “safe and effective” and said her 13-year-old son received his first dose while she had her booster at their local pharmacy.
“Young people can get their life-saving protection at a walk-in site or wait to get vaccinated at school, but the best way to make sure it happens quickly and conveniently is to book online now,” she said.
Children aged 12 to 15 are eligible for a first and second dose of a Covid vaccine. Over-12s who are at higher risk from coronavirus may also be eligible for a booster.
More than 1.4 million young people aged 12 to 15 have had their first dose since September.
A booster jab is available for everyone aged 18 and over, and some 16-year-olds who had two doses of the vaccine at least three months ago.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has insisted that the vaccine roll-out is the UK’s “way through the winter”.
The call comes amid news that more than one million people were unable to get vaccinated during the Christmas boosters drive because of a rule banning people from having a jab within four weeks of a positive Covid-19 test.
The Tony Blair Institute is now calling for the rule to be ditched in a bid to enable unvaccinated or partially vaccinated people to get jabbed more quickly.
Last month, the 15-minute wait after people receive Pfizer and Moderna vaccines was scrapped to help speed up the booster programme.
However, the wait time remains in place for a small number of people who have previously suffered anaphylaxis or other allergic reactions to food, insect sting and most medicines or vaccines.