UK plans to offer booster shots to people over 50
LONDON – The U.K. announced Tuesday it will offer a third dose of coronavirus vaccine to everyone over 50 and other vulnerable people to help the country ride out the pandemic through the winter months.
The booster shots, which will be rolled out beginning next week, were approved a day after the Conservative government also backed plans to offer one vaccine dose to children 12 to 15 years old.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization, which advises the government, recommended that booster shots be offered to everyone over 50, health care workers, people with underlying health conditions and those who live with people whose immune systems are compromised. They will be given no earlier than six months after a person received their second dose of vaccine.
Around 30 million people will be eligible for the booster shots, which aim to protect against a modest waning in immunity among those who have received two jabs.
“The result of this vaccination campaign is we have one of the most free societies and one of the most open economies in Europe,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters on Tuesday. “That’s why we’re now sticking with our strategy.”
Although the number of people now contracting COVID-19 is way higher than this time last year – over 30,000 new infections a day – the British government has opted not to reintroduce further virus restrictions for England, as the vaccine drive this year has reduced the number of people requiring treatment for COVID-19 and subsequently dying.
However, Johnson said the government was ready to reintroduce measures over the coming weeks and months if the pressure on hospitals becomes acute.
The number of people in U.K. hospitals with COVID-19 stands at around 8,500, way down from the near 40,000 that were hospitalized earlier this year during a catastrophic second wave of the pandemic.
Measures held in reserve include mandatory mask-wearing, vaccine certifications for nightclubs and other large-scale events, though not pubs, and a requirement for people to work from home.
“When you’ve got a large proportion, as we have now, with immunity, then smaller changes can make a bigger difference and give us the confidence that we don’t have to go back to the lockdowns of the past,” Johnson said. “In the meantime, we are confident in the vaccines that have made such a difference to our lives.”
The JCVI said the Pfizer vaccine should be the primary choice for booster shots, with a half-dose of Moderna as an alternative. It said these messenger RNA vaccines are more effective as booster shots.
Appealing to everyone eligible for a vaccine to get one, England’s chief medical officer, Chris Whitty said there is a “very substantially smaller” risk of being admitted to a hospital with COVID-19 if someone is vaccinated compared to those who are not. He said someone in their 30s who is unvaccinated is running the same level of risk as someone in their 70s who is.