Booster jabs may be offered to all over-18s
Rollout may extend to younger adults, but Sajid Javid dismisses fears of compulsory vaccinations
‘We are fortunate in this country, although we have vaccine hesitancy, it is a lot lower than in other places’
BOOSTER vaccinations are being considered for all adults, the Health Secretary has said, as seven million over-40s are now eligible to book a third jab.
Sajid Javid said he had asked the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to assess offering the extra dose to all over-18s – but added that he does not see them being made compulsory in the UK.
From today, people aged 40-49 – some around 7.1 million of whom live in England – will be able to book a third vaccination via the NHS National Booking Service.
The 500,000 of that cohort who had their second dose at least six month ago are eligible for the booster immediately – and a further million-plus people in the age group will be able to pre-book their appointments from today.
Asked on Times Radio yesterday about the possibility of offering booster jabs to those aged 12 plus, Mr Javid said that he had asked the JCVI to look at giving boosters to all over-18s, but gave no indication of a time frame for a decision to be made.
The Health Secretary also told BBC One’s Andrew Marr Show: “We will keep under review how [the booster programme] might be extended.”
Asked if he wanted third jabs rolled out to under-40s, Mr Javid said: “I am happy with the extension, of course, to 40-49 – but if the recommendation from the experts … is to go further than that, we will.”
More than 12 million booster jabs have been administered since the JCVI approved them in September.
Future considerations include whether third doses are needed for 18 to 39-year-olds not in an at-risk group and whether an additional booster vaccination (a fourth dose) may be required by adults deemed to be in vulnerable groups.
As demonstrators took to the streets across Europe to protest against tighter restrictions, amid a surge in infections, Mr Javid dismissed fears that Covid vaccines could become mandatory in the UK.
He said: “It is up to Austria, other countries, to decide what they need to do. We are fortunate that in this country, although we have vaccine hesitancy, it is a lot lower than we are seeing in other places.” He added: “On a practical level, taking a vaccine should be a positive choice.
It should be something, if people are a bit reluctant, we should work with them and encourage them. In terms of mandatory vaccines for the general population I don’t think that is something we would ever look at.”
It has been reported that coronavirus jabs could be given to children under 12 next year. But Mr Javid said that it would be “inappropriate” for him to comment, at this stage, on such speculation.