Can I choose which brand I get, and which one should I go for?

VACCINATING people promptly is more important than the type of vaccine used, according to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). Whatever teams have in stock will be used.

Having said that, the JCVI has recommended that, where possible, those aged 12 and over have the newest type of vaccine, produced by both Pfizer and Moderna. These are known as bivalent vaccines and contain proteins that help the body fight the Omicron variant of Covid, as well as the other Beta and Delta types.

Studies of the new Moderna vaccine, called Spikevax bivalent, have found that six months after the injection people have twice as many antibodies as those jabbed with the original Moderna vaccine.

Pfizer’s version was found to be nine times more effective at producing antibodies than the brand’s original jab.

As long as stock lasts, it is likely that you will get one of these jabs. But experts are divided as to the extra benefit they will provide. The bivalent vaccines were developed with the original Omicron variant in mind, so will only deliver partial protection against the subvariants BA.4 and BA.5, says Beate Kampmann, Professor of Paediatric Infection and Immunity and Director of the Vaccine Centre at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

‘How much difference they will make, compared with the traditional boosters, remains to be seen.’