UK to offer COVID-19 booster jabs to over 50s

By Karim El-Bar

LONDON (AA) - The British government on Friday accepted a recommendation by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) to offer COVID-19 booster jabs to all people aged 50 and above in the autumn.

The JCVI has also advised booster shots for people aged between five and 49 who are clinically vulnerable, including pregnant women.

Residents in care homes, as well as frontline health and social care workers, are also eligible.

The latest government data showed that one in 20 people across the UK has tested positive for COVID-19.

“The committee considered the recent epidemiology of the BA.4 and BA.5 waves, as well as the benefits of aligning the COVID-19 program with the flu vaccine rollout, concluding that expanding the offer would provide necessary protection to those at higher risk of severe illness and keep greater numbers of people out of hospital,” read a JCVI statement.

Anthony Harnden, the committee’s deputy chair, said the decision was made so that the “wider health system has time to plan a vaccine rollout well ahead of the winter season.”

The hope is that these boosters will “significantly reduce the risk of hospitalizations and deaths over the winter,” he said.

Accepting the JCVI’s recommendation, Health Secretary Steve Barclay said in a statement that the risk of infections will grow as “viruses spread more easily in the colder seasons with people socializing inside.”

“It is absolutely vital the most vulnerable groups receive a booster vaccine to strengthen their immunity against serious disease over winter to protect themselves and reduce pressure on the NHS,” he said.

Free flu jabs will also be offered in England to adults aged between 50 and 64, as well as secondary school students.