As ministers attempt to prevent an Omicron-related wave, all Britons above 18 years old were made eligible today for Covid booster shots.
A total of 19 million people between the ages of 18 and 39 can apply for their third dose, provided they have had it at least three months prior.
The previous top-up drive was restricted to people over 40. It will now prioritize those based on age, so the most vulnerable can get access first.
Pfizer will offer Moderna or Moderna to booster patients, regardless of whether they had been previously vaccinated with AstraZeneca.
A fourth booster dose will be given to patients with severe immunosuppression who received the first three vaccine doses.
The highly developed Omicron strain that is being spread domestically by No10 experts may reduce effectiveness of two vaccines. However, they believe the jabs are more resilient against death and hospitalisation.
Based on real-world evidence, boosters can reduce the chances of getting Covid by over 95%. This is even more true for severe illnesses.
A second dose of Pfizer is now available to children 12-15 as part the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s (JCVI) new recommendations.
Due to concern about rare forms of inflammation in the heart, the panel decided not to give them second doses. This is slightly less common than after they have received their first shot.
Photographed left to right: Professor Wei Shen Lim of Britain’s JCVI, Dr June Raine of the MHRA, and Professor Jonathan Van-Tam of England.
At a Downing Street media briefing, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said that there was no ‘doom and despair’. He also stated that boosters could still be used to protect against deaths and hospital admissions.
But he said the sheer number of mutations on the virus meant it was ‘likely’ to ‘significantly’ reduce jabs’ ability to prevent infections.