As part of a “national goal” to avert a return of coronavirus restrictions during the holidays, the elderly and fragile have been advised to obtain their Covid-19 booster shots. In his plea, Sajid Javid adds: “We know immunity begins to wane after six months, especially for the elderly and the vulnerable, and booster vaccines will top-up their protection to keep people safe over the winter […] I strongly urge everybody who is eligible for a Covid-19 booster or flu vaccine to take up the offer as soon as you can.
So far, about 10 million individuals in the United Kingdom have gotten a booster injection, but the Department of Health and Social Care reports that around 30 percent of adults over the age of 80 and 40 per cent of persons over the age of 50 in England have not yet had a booster shot.
“As we approach this milestone, I want to thank those who have come forward and urge everybody across the nation to get vaccinated, get protected and get boosted. We know immunity begins to wane after six months, especially for the elderly and the vulnerable, and booster vaccines will top-up their protection to keep people safe over the winter”, says the Health Secretary.
The coronavirus booster vaccine will be given to three million additional individuals in England next week.
Six months following their second shot, those with the age over 50 and those most vulnerable and with co-morbidities from Covid-19 are considered for a booster.
The third jab might become a need to bypass travel restrictions, perhaps driving booster use even higher.
The government “is assessing the consequences and requirements of boosters for foreign travel certification” and “looking at whether and how booster vaccines may be included in the NHS Covid Pass for travel,” according to official guidelines issued earlier this month.
Officials are split over how fast to apply the rules, according to the Mail on Sunday, and are considering a grace period that would enable patients to travel without quarantine if they had requested a booster six months after their second shot but had not yet been provided an appointment.
NHS England will begin sending out invitations to people who had their second dosage more than five months ago, allowing them to acquire a top-up vaccination as fast as it has been six months after their previous shot.
People aged 50 and above, or those aged 16 and up with a health condition that puts them at high risk of getting Covid-19, who had their second dosage six months ago, are eligible for their booster, according to government rules.
According to NHS England, eight million individuals were vaccinated by Saturday, out of a total of 12 million who were invited.
By the end of next week, 16 million invitations to a booster will have been handed out since the NHS booster programme was launched. In all, more than 88 million vaccinations have been administered, with nine out of ten persons having received their first dose since December 2020.
