Covid UK: Boosters for everyone over 18 as third doses of vaccines are approved for ALL adults
Covid boosters for everyone over 18: Third jabs are approved for ALL adults with a three-month gap to protect against incoming Omicron wave and children aged 12-15 can now get second shot — as two more variant cases are detected in London
Covid booster jabs are to be offered to all over-18s from three months after their second dose, scientists say NHS England will open bookings in stages with older adults prioritised for top up vaccinations Some 19million people have been added to the list of those now eligible to get a top up jab figures suggest But there are already fears everyone who is currently eligible won’t be able to get the top up before Christmas
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All Britons over the age of 18 were today made eligible for Covid booster vaccines as ministers try to shield against an incoming wave of the Omicron variant.
The gap between second and third doses has also been chopped in half to three months with Professor Jonathan Van-Tam claiming that boosters had ‘never been more urgent’.
The top-up drive will prioritise people based on their age so that those who are most vulnerable will be able to get their jab first. Previously, it was only open to over-40s.
Eligible Britons will be offered Pfizer or Moderna as a booster dose, even if they were originally vaccinated with AstraZeneca.
Severely immunosuppressed patients who were given three vaccine doses as part of their primary course will also be offered a fourth booster dose.
It came as two more Omicron cases were confirmed in London, both with links to travel from South Africa. It means 11 infections have been detected in Britain to date, as labs probe up to 225 ‘possible’ cases.
No10 experts fear the highly evolved Omicron strain, already thought to be spreading domestically, may ‘significantly’ reduce the effectiveness of two vaccine doses.
But they hope the extremely high protection offered by boosters will broaden immunity against the new strain.
Boris Johnson’s official spokesman suggested today that the definition of ‘fully vaccinated’ might be updated to include three doses, saying the Government was keeping this ‘under review’.
Today’s expansion of the drive means 50million Britons are now eligible for booster doses. Official data shows 17.5million have got their top-up jabs so far.
NHS England will make appointments available for older age groups first to ensure those who are most vulnerable to the virus get their top ups ahead of others.
The Prime Minister today rejected calls from Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford to tighten up the UK’s response to Omicron further arguing the initial response to the variant is correct and will be reviewed in three weeks.
The two first ministers of Scotland and Wales had demanded Covid self-isolation rules be extended from two to eight days to curb the spread of the virus, and called for a COBRA meeting to thrash out a four nations approach.
It came as Britain’s daily Covid cases fell five per cent in a week after another 42,583 positive tests were registered. Latest hospitalisations fell 12 per cent, and deaths dropped by a fifth.
Pictured from left to right Professor Wei Shen Lim, head of the JCVI which design Britain’s roll out, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, England’s deputy chief medical officer, and Dr June Raine, the head of the MHRA
Professor Van-Tam told a Downing Street press briefing that it was not all ‘doom and gloom’ and that the boosters should still provide some protection against hospital admissions and deaths.
But he said the sheer number of mutations on the virus meant it was ‘likely’ to ‘significantly’ reduce jabs’ ability to prevent infections.
Professor Wei Shen-Lim, the chair of Britain’s Covid vaccine advisory panel the JCVI, told the briefing they were extending boosters to younger age groups to protect against infections and the Omicron variant.
He said: ‘Viruses develop variants that are different to the original virus increase the likelihood of a mismatch between the vaccine on the one hand and the variant on the other hand
‘The larger the mismatch between vaccine and variant the greater the likelihood that the level of protection provided by the vaccine will be lowered
‘From what we know about the variant [Omicron] so far it may be that the vaccines that we have at the moment may be less good than against the current circulating delta variant.
‘One way of reducing the impact of this mismatch between vaccine and variant is to increase the strength of the immune response provided by this currency vaccine.
‘In other words, if we can raise the level of the immune response generated by this current vaccine that higher level of immune response will reach out and provide extra protection to mismatched variants.’
He said they were slashing the time between second dose and booster shot from six months to three to ensure people had the best possible protection before a potential winter wave.
He said: ‘With any vaccine during a pandemic we get the greatest benefit of the vaccine both for individuals and society if the vaccine is deployed before the wave starts.
‘If we deploy a vaccine in the middle of a wave or even after the peak of a wave then the benefit from the vaccine is much lower. We therefore want to provide boosters early enough such that it is before any possible wave.
He added: ‘I am not here predicting there will be a wave of the new variant but should there be a wave we want to be in the best possible position.’
He urged anyone who is already eligible for a booster to get the jab to protect themselves and their families from the virus.
There have been nine cases of the Omicron variant reported in Britain, and scientists are concerned that it has mutations linked with higher transmissibility and a possible reduction in the effectiveness of vaccines.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday had instructed the JCVI to review the booster programme urgently given the evolving situation with Omicron after the first cases of the variant were reported.
Though Johnson’s government controls health policy in England alone, JCVI has informed the rollout of Covid vaccines in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The panel reiterated that Moderna and Pfizer’s vaccine were the preferred vaccines to use in booster shots.
Of the two new cases spotted in London, one was identified in Camden and the other in Wandsworth.
It comes as the Prime Minister’s spokesman said it was safe for people in England to go into the office, as people in other UK nations were urged to work from home to curb the spread of the new coronavirus variant.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon on Monday reminded people to ‘work from home if possible’, as six cases were confirmed there. The advice is the same in Northern Ireland.
In Wales, working from home is encouraged under current guidance.
On Monday the PM’s spokesman said it was up to employers to decide on the ‘right balance’ for them, when it came to whether staff worked from home or the office.
Jurisdiction over coronavirus restrictions is devolved, meaning Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s policies apply to England, and may differ from the rules elsewhere in the UK.
Asked whether employers were still being encouraged to get people back into the office, the PM’s spokesman said: ‘Our position has not altered from what it was previously.
‘We (are) obviously keeping the evidence of this variant under review and we will take action if necessary, but currently we don’t think there are any other changes required.’
He added: ‘In line with the guidance, we’ve said that it is safe for people to return to work. It is up to individual employers to decide what is the right balance for (them).’
Asked if the Government viewed Scotland’s decision to ask people to work from home as disproportionate, the spokesman said: ‘It’s up (to) the Scottish government to decide what approach they think is suitable.’
