Sir Patrick Vallance suggested that Covid jabs could soon be given once every year
Sir Patrick Vallance says giving out Covid jabs every six months is ‘untenable’ and that the vaccination drive will soon ‘settle’ into a yearly inoculation programme — similar to that for flu.
Tonight’s Downing Street press conference saw England’s chief scientist adviser speak out, saying that jabs are currently being given every 3 to 6 months due to the fact that the virus is relatively recent.
He predicted that several shots per year would no longer be required as the immune system of Britons becomes more resilient to it.
Sir Patrick stated that if someone is vaccinated against the virus, their immunity increases. This makes it more effective in fighting future and current variants.
He said that Covid vaccines should not be rolled out multiple times per annum and this wasn’t the “long-term” plan.
This is because Professor Andrew Pollard (who was part of the Oxford Covid team) warned that booster vaccinations for everyone were not sustainable.
On the occasion of the jab’s anniversary, he stated that future drives should be directed at the most vulnerable rather than the adults.
Last month, the UK ordered an additional 114 million doses of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines.
They should arrive within the next two-years and will ‘futureproof’ existing vaccine stock, though it is unclear how they will be utilized.
Israel approved four vaccine doses already for people over 60, but German officials have warned that Omicron will require a booster.
Sir Patrick said that Covid jabs might be available once per year. The last twelve months have seen three Covid jabs offered to Britons.
This is a picture of a woman receiving her Covid booster vaccination in Sevenoaks Kent at a pharmacy
This graph displays the top 10 countries that have administered the most vaccine boosters or doses to their population. The graph illustrates how many nations now give more than one dose per person. UK performs in the mid-tier of top-20 performers. The US does not make it to the final.
The UK ranks as a middle performer among the 20 top nations in terms of vaccine doses per 100 inhabitants, but it is still a strong performer when compared to countries like the USA, Canada, Australia, and Israel.
Sir Patrick told a Downing Street press conference: ‘There will be some people who may require an additional dose but longer term I would think as this becomes a disease which is endemic, in other words we have it circulating and it comes back every year, it will be something like an annual vaccine like flu or something of that order which this moves to.
“When we look at a more long term strategy to prevent disease, we will not see it as something that you can get a vaccine as frequently in the future as I do right now.
“We require that, because we are in the early stages of this illness and need to be boosted right now for this type.
“So, I believe there will be some change in the future and it will settle down into a more routine type vaccine program as we do for other infectious diseases.”
He added: ‘The good news is that as you get vaccinated more the immune sytsem broadens its response so that it covers more variants.
“So, the immune system is more able to fight infection as it gets stronger.
Andrew Pollard is correct in stating that everyone will need another vaccination every 3 to 6 months. This, however, doesn’t reflect the long-term outlook.
The Covid vaccine has been administered to three British citizens in the past 12 months.
They were instructed to receive two doses 12 weeks apart of Covid vaccine in December 2020. Older people and the most vulnerable to the disease would be first called forward.
Nine months later — in September — a booster programme was launched inviting all over-50s to get a third dose.
In an attempt to stop the Omicron variant, this was expanded to all over-18s by December.
Department of Health figures show 34.3million Britons — or 60 per cent of over-12s — have already got three doses of the Covid vaccine.
Some 47.4million — or 82 per cent — have got two doses, and 51.8million — or 90 per cent — have had their first dose.
Boris Johnson, today declared that England would not have any new Covid curbs and would adhere to Plan B. He also stated that Britain can “ride out” the Omicron waves.
Today’s UK infection record saw 218,724 cases. This was due to four days in Northern Ireland and two days in Wales.
England saw a 27% increase in Covid infection rates over the past 24 hours.
Sir Andrew previously stated that boosters may not be necessary.
‘We know people have strong antibodies for a few months after their third vaccine —but more data are needed to assess whether, when and how often those who are vulnerable will need additional doses.’
He stated, “We don’t have the resources to vaccinate every six months. This is not feasible or cost-effective. We must target vulnerable people in the future.
Sir Andrew was chief investigator of the Oxford Covid vaccine trials and director of the Oxford Vaccine Group, which developed AstraZeneca’s jab.
A year on from AstraZeneca’s jab being administered to a member of the public, Sir Andrew expressed optimism going forward — even as the Omicron variant continues to ravage the UK.
“The worst of the winter is over.” He told The Daily Telegraph that all we need is to make it through winter.
Boris Johnson spoke out about his current Omicron crisis management, which he described as “very light” in England.[It]It seems like it is still working. It’s not falling apart. It’s perfectly balanced.
“We don’t know if he has it all right at the moment.
Over the twelve months that have elapsed since AstraZeneca injections into Brian Pinker, an Oxford dialysis patient, over 9 billion Covid doses worldwide were administered.
Over 12s in Britain have received their first shot, with 90 percent having had it and over 80 percent receiving two. There have also been 33 million boosters given.
According to Sir Andrew’s account, investigators and vaccine scientists were warned that it would take at least two years until the vaccine can be rolled-out.
With so much of the UK and other richer nations now vaccinated, he has added his voice to calls to ‘open up’, despite the ongoing threat from Omicron — which a plethora of studies have suggested is milder than previous strains.
Sir Andrew stated: “At some point society must open up.
“When we open, there will likely be an increase in infection rates. This is why winter may not be the most suitable time. This decision will be made by policy makers and scientists.
“Our approach needs to change. We must rely on boosters and vaccines. The unvaccinated are still at the greatest risk.
Experts warn that the US and UK could overvaccinate people to fight Covid.
Scientists claim that distributing vaccines once every three to four months is impossible. Omicron may be a factor, according to some scientists. Omicron will accelerate the process of endemicity. It could also reduce hospitalisations and deaths.
They also demanded more information on the dosing gap between boosters, before proceeding with fourth jabs.
Some experts claim the benefits of extra jabs are minimal because their primary purpose — preventing deaths and hospitalizations — has barely waned after a year and several Covid variants, effectively meaning boosters are adding to an already high base level immunity.
Sky News’ Sir Andrew said that fewer than 10% of low-income families had received their first dose of the drug today. Therefore, it is absurd to suggest that fourth doses should be administered globally.
“It could be that, as science advances, we will discover who is most at risk in populations. We can then target future boosters to help them protect themselves.
‘But for the vast majority of people now who are vaccinated, the risk is extremely low of severe Covid and it’s likely we’ll reach a point where we’re focusing those booster doses on those who most need them.
‘Does that mean we’ll need updated vaccines each year? To make these decisions, we need to have more data.
He claimed that despite high levels of Covid in the UK, vaccinations have helped to control severe illness.
For six consecutive days, the UK Health Security Agency reported more than 150,000 infections. In contrast, there were nearly 100,000 new cases per day over two weeks.
Sir Andrew said: ‘I don’t think we’re completely over Omicron, certainly not in the UK and even less so in many other countries, and there’s still some weeks for all of that to play out.
‘But generally the news is relatively good from an overall perspective in that it does seem to be causing milder disease, but that doesn’t mean that our health system – which is very much on the edge in normal times – is going to be able to cope with the increase in cases.
“So, I believe we still need to have measures that protect the healthcare service during winter.”
According to him, leaders were working with the government on ways that they can transition into an open society that safeguards vulnerable citizens.
‘Third doses have been given and we’ve been trying to manage the amount of cases so that the NHS is protected, but as we go forwards into the year ahead, working out how to live better with the virus is going to be the critical next step,’ Sir Andrew said.
He said that Omicron may be causing milder diseases than others, and that Covid’s future releases will likely not have the same effects.
Sir Andrew suggested that it may be necessary for people to use updated Covid jabs in order to manage the virus’ future.
Omicron vaccine manufacturers are currently working to improve the jabs they have.
However, these vaccines will not be available for many months. The current vaccines have been able to withstand severe Covid effects so they won’t become obsolete.
He said that false information about Covid vaccines would undoubtedly lead to the death of many people.