Covid-19 booster jab to be rolled out this spring
People at most risk of becoming seriously ill from the virus are due to be offered a booster vaccination to help protect them this summer.
Coronavirus booster vaccines have been announced to be offered to vulnerable people -individuals aged over 75, care-home residents and anyone with an extreme underlying health condition aged five and over – in England and Wales at the beginning of April.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said hospital admission rates for Covid-19 in autumn last year displayed that the risk of becoming seriously ill from the virus was noticeably higher in people over 75.
Following this discovering, Health Chiefs have warned against complacency and have ruled that the age group would benefit the most an additional booster jab this spring.
Professor Wei Shen Lim, JCVI Chairman, said: ‘Vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself against Covid-19, and the spring booster programme provides an opportunity for those who are at highest risk of severe illness to keep their immunity topped up.
‘This year’s spring programme will bridge the gap to the planned booster programme in the autumn, enabling this who are most vulnerable to be well protected throughout the summer.’
As well as being offered to people over the age of 75, the vaccination will also be given to individuals aged five and over who are defined as immunosuppressed – people who’ve experienced organ transplants or who have blood cancer, and those undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer.
The NHS in England is expecting to offer the first dose to those eligible in April and the campaign will last until late June and Wales has confirmed it will begin on 1st April. Scotland are yet to announce any details.
Since last summer, different versions of the Omicron variant of coronavirus have been spreading the most – the latest being Omicron BQ.1.
Photo by National Cancer Institute