Covid booster jab to be offered this spring
According to BBC news, A spring booster vaccine against Covid-19 is to be offered to people most at risk of catching the disease to protect them this summer.
Vaccine experts in the United Kingdom say it should be
available to everyone over the age of 75, care-home residents, and anyone
extremely vulnerable aged five and up. Vaccinations in care homes in England
will begin in early April, and Wales will follow suit.
Other parts of the UK's NHS have yet to announce their
plans.
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It is recommended that the booster vaccine be administered
six months after the previous dose.
According to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization
(JCVI), hospital admission rates for Covid-19 in autumn 2022 demonstrated that
the risk of becoming seriously ill from coronavirus was noticeably higher in
people over 75.
As a result, they would benefit the most from an additional
vaccine dose this spring, with health officials cautioning against complacency.
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Anyone living in an elderly care home, as well as people aged five and up who are immunocompromised, will be offered a booster shot.
"Vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself
against Covid-19, and the spring booster program provides an opportunity for
those who are at the highest risk of severe illness to keep their immunity
topped up," said JCVI chairman Professor Wei Shen Lim.
This year's spring program will bridge the gap to the
planned autumn booster program, ensuring that the most vulnerable people are
well protected throughout the summer."
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The NHS in England expects to provide the first spring
booster doses to those who are eligible in April, with the campaign lasting
until late June. Wales has confirmed that it will begin on April 1.
Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Sanofi/GSK, and Novavax vaccines,
among others, could be used.
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Most doses will most likely protect against the Omicron
variant as well as previous ones.
Since last summer, various versions of the Omicron variant
of Covid have spread the most, the most recent being Omicron BQ.1.
Children under the age of 12 will be given a children's
version of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine.
Dr. Mary Ramsay, head of immunization at the UK Health
Security Agency, said Covid-19 was still circulating widely and that there had
been an increase in the number of older people admitted to hospitals recently.
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"It is critical that those who are most at risk of
severe illness do not become complacent, and I would encourage everyone who is
eligible to come forward once the booster program begins."
People who are at a higher risk of severe Covid-19 are also
expected to receive a booster vaccine dose in autumn 2023 in preparation for
the winter.
Frontline health and care workers, adults over the age of
50, and some caregivers and household contacts were also given a booster dose
last autumn.
