Immune compromised to be offered booster Covid vaccines
THIRD Covid jags will be offered in the UK to anyone with a severely weakened immune systems, but no decision has yet been taken on winter boosters or vaccinations for healthy 12 to 15-year-olds.
People with conditions such as leukaemia, advanced HIV or a recent organ transplant will be eligible for a third vaccine dose following a recommendation from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
The expert panel is still deliberating on the potential benefits of booster vaccines for the rest of the population amid some evidence that immunity may wane after four to five months. A number of other countries, including Israel, have already begun administering boosters to over-60s with signs that doing so has curbed hospital admissions in this age group.
The JCVI said it is also still considering the evidence for extending immunisation to all 12 to 15-year-olds, with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon saying yesterday that she was hopeful of “a positive recommendation very soon”, adding: “We stand ready to implement that if it is the case”.
Outlining the reasons for its updated guidance, the JCVI said people who were severely immuno suppressed at the time of their first or second dose of vaccine may not have been able to mount a full response to vaccination, meaning they could be less protected than the wider population.
Professor Wei Shen Lim, chair of Covid-19 Immunisation for the JCVI, said: “We want people with severely suppressed immune systems to have the best chance of gaining protection from Covid-19 via vaccination.”
It comes as the latest data for Scotland shows that unvaccinated people are being admitted to hospital at twice the rate of those who have had both vaccine doses.
In the week to August 27, there were 261 Covid hospital admissions among people who were fully vaccinated, compared to 153 for unvaccinated people.
However, once the relative sizes of the vaccinated and unvaccinated populations are taken into account, the risk of hospitalisation currently stands 15 per 100,000 among unvaccinated people compared to eight per 100,000 in the fully vaccinated.
It comes amid a four-fold surge in virus cases in Scotland since most restrictions were lifted, climbing from
8,395 in the week leading up to ‘Beyond Zero’ on August 9 to nearly 41,000 over the past seven days.
The number of people in hospital with Covid has also doubled in the past 11 days, from 312 to 629.
The PHS report also shows that adults over-40 have been making up a growing share of Covid infections in Scotland, rising from about 25% of cases in early July to one in three by the end of August.
By the week ending August 24, 43% of people admitted to hospital with Covid were over 60.
It comes as new research published today in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases found that people who contracted the coronavirus after having had both Covid vaccines were twice as likely to have an asymptomatic infection compared to unvaccinated people.
Their odds of experiencing Long Covid were also halved, and their chances of being hospitalised were cut by around 70% after one or two doses.
The results are based on self-reported data gathered between December 8 2020 and July 4 this year through the ZOE Covid-19 Symptom Study, which allows users to report details about their illness, vaccine status and symptoms via an app.
The study found that “breakthrough” infections after vaccination were most common in frail adults over 60, older adults with obesity, heart disease, kidney disease, and lung disease, and in adults of all ages living in more deprived urban areas.
Study co-lead author Dr Claire
Steves, of King’s College London, said: “Breakthrough infections are expected and don’t diminish the fact that these vaccines are doing exactly what they were designed to do – save lives and prevent serious illness.”
Co-author Dr Rose Penfold, said the increased risk for frail, older adults and people living in deprived conditions “reflect what we’ve seen throughout the pandemic”.
She added: “Policies around timing between the first and second dose and potential booster shots, should prioritise these groups.”
These vaccines are doing exactly what they were designed to do – save lives