Further boosters due in autumn

WITH coronavirus infection rising again across Wales, attention is turning to the planned spring booster programme.

A second booster dose in the spring will be offered to: ■■Adults aged 75 years and over; ■■Residents in a care home for older adults; and, ■■Individuals aged 12 years and over who are immunosuppressed.

A Covid-19 vaccination strategy for 2022 has been published by the Welsh Government. It says: “There is now the expectation that Covid-19 vaccination, as with the flu jab, will become a regular programme. In planning for a more stable delivery, to maintain protection, we are working with health boards to plan for some of the more likely scenarios into the spring and further into autumn and winter 2022-23.

“The oldest and most vulnerable people in Wales will need further protection. Winter remains the season when the threat from Covid-19 is greatest both for individuals and for health communities and, for the purposes of longer term planning, the JCVI has also signalled an autumn 2022 programme of vaccinations for people who are at higher risk of severe Covid-19, such as those of older age and in clinical risk groups. Precise details of an autumn programme will be made available at a later stage.

“We are also retaining the need to stand up surge capacity if we need to respond to a new pandemic wave, or outbreak of a new variant, but we hope this capacity will never be needed again.”

The strategy statement adds: “In the longer term, we are looking at all our vaccination programmes and considering what we have learned during the pandemic and if this can be applied to other vaccination programmes.

“Our vaccination services are effective but there is always room for improvement and the lessons identified through the Covid-19 vaccination programme will help.”