Get ready for your 3rd Covid jab
Race against time as elderly set for booster vaccine within weeks... but thousands of 18-30s still to get f irst dose
ELDERLY and vulnerable Scots will start receiving their third Covid vaccine from next month, amid fears that protection against the virus is waning.
Evidence from both the UK and Israel suggests that people who were vaccinated towards the beginning of the rollout have seen their immunity dip.
It means the Scottish Government now faces a race against time to vaccinate those aged between 18 and 30, after uptake slowed dramatically in recent weeks.
Around 28 per cent in that age group – about 235,000 people – are unvaccinated, having had neither dose.
At the current rate of progress it would take until after Christmas to vaccinate the whole adult population.
However, in reality the Government does not have that long, with booster jabs and the flu vaccine about to take priority.
From September to the end of the year, all over-50s will receive a third Covid jab. Those also needing a flu vaccine will get it at the same appointment, under current plans.
This would not be a populationwide vaccination – which could well follow in 2022 – but an effort to top up the immunity of the most vulnerable.
Annie Wells, health spokesman for the Scottish Tories, said: ‘The vaccination scheme has been a huge success across Scotland and the United Kingdom. However, we are acutely aware that we will have to live with this virus as we continue to return to normality.
‘That is why a successful booster vaccination rollout is essential for
SNP Ministers to get right, to protect those most at risk. They are overseeing a slowing down in the vaccination programme and last year’s flu vaccination scheme was beset by chaos and delays.’
She added: ‘If a booster scheme is to start by September, SNP Ministers must ramp up the vaccination scheme, and ensure every possible dose is getting into people’s arms.
‘People across Scotland would be understandably furious with SNP Ministers if any future rollouts were botched and restrictions reimposed as a result.’
Israel, whose vaccine rollout was, at times, faster than the UK, is starting its booster scheme today.
Studies there found that protection against Covid had diminished slightly, particularly in the face of the Delta variant, which is dominant in the UK.
Professor Linda Bauld, an expert in public health at the University of Edinburgh, said: ‘Within the UK, we can already see, in the ONS [Office for National Statistics] database, amongst older groups, antibodies are down, which we would expect as their immune responses are never as robust.
‘The data I have seen from Israel is that, when people have been vaccinated a number of months ago, their immune response was not as robust as it was earlier in the period. This is totally what we would expect, that protection from the virus does not last that long. We just don’t know how long.’
The Scottish Government said booster jabs will start next month.
A spokesman said: ‘We welcome the interim advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on a potential Covid-19 vaccine booster programme, alongside the vital annual seasonal flu vaccination programme this autumn.
‘We’re working closely with NHS boards to plan for this, as a next step in our vaccination efforts against Covid-19 and protecting people at risk from flu this winter. The JCVI will consider additional scientific data ahead of publishing their final advice. They suggest offering the Covid-19 vaccine booster and flu vaccine in a single appointment may increase take-up, and we are planning on that basis.’
The spokesman added: ‘However, this will be dependent on the JCVI’s final advice. We anticipate the rollout to priority groups will be from September. The offer for people to receive their first or second dose of Covid-19 vaccine will remain open, so anyone who hasn’t had a chance to take this up will still have the opportunity to do so as we head into the autumn.’
‘Immune response is not as robust as it was ’