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Everyone In UK Over Age Of 18 To Be Offered Covid Booster Vaccine

Everyone In UK Over Age Of 18 To Be Offered Covid Booster Vaccine

The government is offering booster vaccines three months after a second dose

All people in the UK aged 18 and over will be offered a Covid-19 booster vaccine, as the government moves to tackle the new Omicron variant.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is now advising that all adults aged 18 to 39 should be offered a booster dose, in order of descending age groups, after early evidence has suggested that higher antibody levels may protect better against the variant.

Those aged 40 and over are already eligible for a booster vaccine.

Booster doses should be given no sooner than three months after people have had their second dose of an original vaccine – shaving three months off the current six-month wait, according to the JCVI.

In addition, young people aged 12 to 15 are advised to receive a second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine, no sooner than 12 weeks after their first dose.

Alamy

The JCVI also said that severely immunosuppressed people should be offered a booster dose no sooner than three months after completing their primary course of three doses.

Professor Wei Shen Lim, chair of the JCVI said: “Having a booster dose of the vaccine will help to increase our level of protection against the Omicron variant.

“This is an important way for us to reduce the impact of this variant on our lives, especially in the coming months.

“If you are eligible for a booster, please take up the offer and keep yourself protected as we head into winter.”

The JCVI said that both the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines can be given as a booster for adults.

There are fears the high number of mutations in the Omicron variant could reduce the effectiveness of current vaccines, though they may still protect against severe disease.

Alamy

It could be three more weeks before further details emerge from scientists on how transmissible the variant is, whether it evades vaccine protection and whether it causes more severe disease.

In a speech to the King’s Fund annual conference on Monday, Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of the NHS in England, said NHS staff will 'move heaven and earth to vaccinate as many people as possible' to ensure that people can enjoy Christmas with their loved ones.

But she said volunteers are needed to help the 'vital national effort' of expanding the coronavirus vaccine programme, adding the service 'will not be able to do it alone'.

Dr June Raine, chief executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), said: “The public can be confident that our robust regulatory assessment supports the JCVI’s recommended extension to the vaccination campaign.

“This further strengthens our ability to ensure people are protected against Covid-19 and saves lives.

“Our safety monitoring to date shows that Covid-19 vaccines continue to have a positive safety profile for the majority of people.

“When you are called for your booster dose, you can come forward confident that the benefits in preventing serious Covid-19 far outweigh any risks.”

Featured Image Credit: Alamy

Topics: UK News, Coronavirus