The UK is set to kick-start its booster campaign for autumn after becoming the first country to approve a vaccine that targets both Omicron and original variants of the virus. The government hopes to reach 26 million people who are eligible for a booster, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said.
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Eligibility
The Moderna vaccine, known as the bivalent vaccine because of its dual targets, will be offered to some people as part of the autumn booster campaign, the BBC reports. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) has advised that people who fall under these categories be given the vaccines:
- adults aged 50 and over
- people aged five to 49 with health conditions which put them at higher risk - including pregnant women
- care home staff
- frontline health and social care workers
- carers aged 16 to 49
- household contacts of people with weakened immune systems
Unlike before when only healthy people aged 65 and above were due to be offered another booster, the programme has now been expanded to cover more people as Omicron continues to evolve and spread.
Which vaccines?
Moderna hopes to make available 13 million doses of its new bivalent vaccine by the autumn, but that is less than the number of people eligible for a booster. However, experts say you should take whichever booster you are offered as all vaccines provide protection against becoming severely ill or dying from Covid.
Professor Wei Shen Lim, Chair of COVID-19 immunization on the JCVI, said:
All of the available booster vaccines offer very good protection against severe illness from COVID-19. As more vaccines continue to be developed and approved, the JCVI will consider the benefits of including them in the UK programme.
Read more:
⋙ New Covid-19 Omicron vaccine in the United States: Here's everything we know
⋙ Covid-19: UK approves new vaccine that protects against Omicron and original strain
