Let’s talk about booster vaccines

Your booster questions answered

V MANY OF us will have already had our Covid-19 vaccinations and been offered a booster jab. If you haven’t already had the booster, it’s vital you do so.

Boosters increase our protection against coronavirus and help reduce the risk of hospitalisation and serious illness as a result of catching the virus. If you catch Covid-19, you might also get long Covid, which can have serious long-term effects. You can get a booster three months after your second dose.

Vaccination is safe and remains the best defence against Covid-19, but we know there are some misconceptions out there — so we asked Dr Michelle Jacobs to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about Covid vaccination and boosters.

Dr Jacobs is a consultant in adult and paediatric emergency medicine at West Herts NHS Trust (Watford General Hospital). She is also a volunteer for Camp Simcha, the charity supporting seriously ill children and their families.

I’VE HAD COVID; WHY DO I NEED A VACCINE/BOOSTER?

It’s a question of a combination of your own personal risk — even for young, fit people there is a risk — and protecting other people. You’d like to think that in the Jewish community there was a sense of doing your bit for other people — “I’m planning to see this person” or “I’m in this group” or “I’m going to shul”. Organisations might have certain rules but they are not consistent, and people have to have a sense of individual responsibility and do the right thing.

IS THE VACCINE/BOOSTER SAFE FOR MY CHILD?

Yes. Medical evidence shows that the vaccine is safe for children. There have been clinical trials on very young children in some countries. There are incidences of very rare medical conditions but we have also seen some children who have been seriously unwell with Covid and the vaccine is especially important if the child is medically vulnerable themselves or in close contact with elderly relatives or immunosuppressed people. The vast majority of children with Covid are fine — but some are not.

I AM PREGNANT. SHOULD I GET MY BOOSTER?

I don’t work in obstetrics but the general advice is to have the vaccine and boosters. We have seen some extremely unwell pregnant women with coronavirus — there seems to be an increased susceptibility — and whatever happens to the mum affects the baby growing inside her. You are at higher risk of getting seriously ill from Covid-19 if you’re pregnant. If you get Covid-19 late in your pregnancy, your baby could also be at risk.

I AM BREASTFEEDING; CAN I STILL HAVE MY JAB?

Yes — you cannot catch Covid-19 from the vaccines and cannot pass it to your baby through your breast milk.

WHAT ABOUT THE SIDE EFFECTS OF THE VACCINE?

The side effects are very similar to having the flu vaccine. You might get a bit of a sore arm or aching or not feeling 100 per cent for a day or two but symptoms are easily controlled with paracetamol.

I’M SO BUSY – HOW CAN I ORGANISE MY KIDS’ JABS?

Many children are getting them in school — the only problem is that some of them have had Covid now and may have to miss the second vaccine dose, because there has to be a 12-week gap — and that is sensible. But then you have to think: ‘how am I going to go about getting them the jab now?’ But just as adults can go to a pharmacist or vaccination centre, we can take our child — you just need to make sure that you go to one that is giving vaccinations to children. See the Government Covid website or adverts in the press to help you find the right place.

I AM IMMUNOSUPPRESSED. SHOULD I GET A BOOSTER?

Absolutely! You should get the vaccines that are offered and the booster. People who are immunosuppressed may have their own schedule for when they have to have the vaccines and booster and the intervals between may be different — it might be eight weeks, for example, or something different — there may be specific advice from your consultant or your clinical team.

Everyone in that situation should have received that information and if not, they should contact their specialist team.

I’VE HAD TWO JABS. AREN’T TWO DOSES ENOUGH?

We do know protection wanes with time, unfortunately. It may be that we have to have boosters six-monthly or annually for the foreseeable future. It is likely that Covid will become something we have to live alongside like flu and there will be a continuing small number of cases. I think we will reach that state but we’re not there yet. We’ve currently got 100 patients admitted in our hospital with Covid, a few in intensive care, whereas we actually went down to none before Omicron. This number is far fewer than we had with the Delta variant but in terms of planned procedures and operations and the day--to-day work of the hospital, it is not an insignificant number. For people who think Omicron is only mild — the effects are not insignificant in terms of a healthcare setting. The influx of patients changes how the whole hospital works. Having the vaccine and having the booster keeps numbers of people coming into hospital down — that has got to help the planned work the hospital is trying to do.