Those over 40 will soon be able to receive a third dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in the UK, in an effort to strengthen protection for the population and avoid the reintroduction of restrictions this winter. So far, around 12.6 million people in the UK have received a third injection of Covid-19, including those over 50, frontline caregivers and people with health conditions that make them vulnerable to the disease. virus. Experts from the JCVI, a committee advising the government on its vaccination campaign, recommended Monday to extend this recall campaign to over 40s and to use the Pfizer / BioNtech vaccine as a priority for injections, or otherwise, a half -dose of Moderna. The injection must take place at least six months after the administration of the second dose,an interval considered to be the most relevant in terms of vaccine efficacy.
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The JCVI also recommended that adolescents aged 16 and 17, who were initially offered a single injection of the Covid-19 vaccine, be able to receive a second dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine at least 12 weeks after the first.
As soon as these recommendations were expressed, the Minister of Health, Sajid Javid, announced the extension of the recall campaign, stressing that the four nations of the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) "
have the 'intention to follow the advice of JCVI
'.
Sajid Javid announced that he had asked the public health service, the NHS, "
to prepare to offer a vaccine to eligible people as soon as possible
".
Decreased immunity
These announcements come as the government renews its calls to the population to receive booster shots to avoid a chaotic winter with hospitals overwhelmed with patients with Covid-19 and other seasonal viruses such as influenza.
“
At Christmas and during the winter period, we can expect respiratory viruses to be present and we are particularly concerned that the flu will come back and make our problems worse
,” said Jonathan Van-Tam, deputy chief medical officer for the England, at a press conference on Monday.
"
It could be quite hectic in the coming months
," he warned.
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“
We know that immunity to Covid-19 starts to wane after six months and new data released today shows that a third dose increases protection against symptomatic infections by more than 90%.
This underlines how important it is that all eligible people receive their booster injections as soon as possible
”, underlined the Minister of Health.
He said the JCVI would continue to examine whether the third doses of the Covid-19 vaccine should be extended to people under the age of 40.
The United Kingdom is one of the countries most bereaved by the coronavirus pandemic with nearly 143,000 deaths.
