COVID-19 booster vaccine could be offered from September to the most vulnerable

A COVID-19 booster vaccine could be offered from September 2021 to the UK’s most vulnerable people to ensure continued protection during the winter season. This is based on the provisional opinion of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI).

JCVI explained that this plan aims to extend the protection offered by the first two doses of vaccine. The Department of Health and Social Affairs (DHSC) explained that evidence shows that two doses of any COVID-19 vaccine offers strong protection against severe coronavirus disease for at least six months. However, as with the flu, winter is likely to lead to an increase in cases and increased pressure on the NHS, the DHSC added.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer for England Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said: “The announcement of JCVI’s provisional opinion is good news. This shows that vaccine experts are thinking carefully about how best to use vaccination to protect the most vulnerable and ensure that everyone’s life can remain as normal as possible for the fall and winter.

“Of course, we need to be guided by the data, and there will be more data from vaccine booster studies for JCVI to review over the summer, so we all need to remember that this advice is provisional and could change by September. “

JCVI’s provisional advice suggests a two-step booster program alongside the influenza vaccination program. As a first step, a third booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine would be offered to anyone over the age of 70, to people living in retirement homes for the elderly and to front-line health and social workers. Anyone over the age of 16 with a weakened immune system or who is considered clinically extremely vulnerable will also be offered the booster.

In the second stage, adults over 50 and those who are household contacts of someone with a weakened immune system would be asked for a booster. In addition to this, anyone over the age of 16 who has been described in one of the government’s flu or COVID-19 risk groups will also be invited. This includes people with epilepsy, who were included in priority group 6 when the COVID-19 vaccination program was rolled out.

The final opinion of the JCVI and the final decision on its implementation have not yet been taken and will be delivered before September. It will take into account the situation at the time, more data from booster trials and information on vaccine effectiveness on newer variants of the virus.

The DHSC said the latest analysis from Public Health England (PHE) and the University of Cambridge suggests vaccines have so far prevented around 7.2 million infections and 27,000 deaths in England.

PHE data also shows that COVID-19 vaccines are very effective against severe symptoms of the Delta COVID-19 variant. The analysis suggests that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is 96% effective and the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is 92% effective against hospitalization after two doses. The Moderna vaccine is also 94.1% effective, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

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