Booster vaccine rollout starts this month
THIRD vaccine jabs are being given out from this month to help protect millions of older and vulnerable people from Covid-19, Sajid Javid has said.
The Health Secretary said the extra dose would bolster immunity and help protect the NHS. The programme could be deployed in a week, he added, after being given the green light by ministers.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has already said a third top-up dose should be offered to people with severely weakened immune systems, which accounts for up to half a million people in the UK. But it has not decided if booster doses are needed to extend protection in larger numbers of people at high risk from Covid-19, including those normally eligible for a flu jab. A decision could come this week.
Mr Javid told Sky News: “There is evidence of waning immunity, particularly in older people, more vulnerable people. And we are already taking action on that. So, for example, just a week ago I announced that those people that are immuno-suppressed should get a third jab as part of their primary treatment. That has already started.
“And in terms of a general booster programme, we have asked the JCVI to look into this. They gave me interim advice a month or so ago where they supported this, but they said they wanted to do some further work. We have given them the time to do that work.
“But I believe we will be able to start our booster programme, subject to their final advice, on schedule this month.”
The Health Secretary said he will not “push” chief medical officers for their advice on vaccinating 12 to 15-year-olds, but he has asked for schools to start preparing. “We have been looking at that. I’m not in a position to make a final decision on it.
“I received advice a week or so ago from the JCVI – their advice was that I should ask the chief medical officers of the UK, the four chief officers to take a look at not just the health aspects of vaccination but whether there were any broader reasons that it might be in the welfare of children, and they need to be given the time to look at this, and I will wait to see what they have to say.