Elderly face delays as flu jabs and Covid boosters given separately

NHS HIGHLAND has moved to reassure elderly residents amid concern that vulnerable people aged over 80 in some areas are facing delays for Covid boosters.

Health boards and GP practices are in the process of vaccinating adults aged 70 years, care home residents, NHS staff and those over 16 who were previously shielding.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has said boosters and flu vaccinations should be administered together “where appropriate” and at least six months after second Covid shots.

However, elderly people living in some parts of the Highlands, including Lochaber, have been receiving flu vaccines separately, without boosters.

A spokesman for NHS Highland said it was not possible to deliver both vaccines together in every area due to logistical and geographical challenges.

He said those who had received only flu vaccinations would be communicated with “shortly”.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire, Grampian, Fife,

Forth Valley, Lothian, Borders and Ayrshire and Arran, said boosters and flu vaccinations were being administered together while Western Isles said patients were being given the option of having the jags together or separately.

NHS Tayside said people aged over 70 and those who were previously shielding were currently being invited for their flu vaccination at their own GP practices. The board said lettered invitations for boosters for this group would follow and will take place at community vaccination centres. Details on

NHS Orkney’s website state it is initially prioritising flu vaccinations.

Concerns over waning vaccine immunity were strengthened after a major survey in England found evidence of “breakthrough infections” more than three months after full vaccination.

Researchers at Imperial College London analysed more than 100,000 swabs and found Covid infection rates were three to four times higher among unvaccinated people than those who had received two shots.

But while full vaccination drove infection rates down substantially, from 1.76 per cent in the unvaccinated to 0.35% in the three months after the second dose, infection rates rose again to 0.55% three to six months after the second shot.

The finding suggests protection against infection, with or without symptoms, starts to wane several months after full vaccination, though other studies show vaccine protection against hospitalisation and death is far more robust.

A spokesman for NHS Highland said: “We are using different methods to deliver the expanded flu and Covid-19 vaccination programmes to cover the diverse geography across our board area.

“Where it is possible and practical, the vaccines are being co-administered. This is not always possible as the delivery of the vaccines varies in different areas.

The Scottish Government has said other eligible groups – including all those aged 16 to 49 and adults aged over 50 – will be able to book an appointment online from this month.

A spokesman for NHS Inform said it was waiting for updated guidance and said the system was not yet accepting bookings.

People on the highest risk list who were severely immuno-suppressed at the time of their last Covid vaccination are being offered a third primary dose instead of a booster.

The JCVI committee based its advice on preliminary data from the Octave trial, which showed almost everyone who was immunosuppressed did mount an immune response after two doses, as indicated by either antibodies or T cells – but in around 40% of people the levels of antibodies were low. It is not yet clear how much this may affect their protection against Covid-19.