PM to announce extension of booster jab scheme

Boris Johnson will hold a press conference today in which he will outline plan’s- announced yesterday- to offer the coronavirus booster vaccine to all adults.

This comes alongside growing concern over the Omicrom variant, of which there are 11 confirmed cases in the UK.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) previously advised that those aged over 40 years and those at higher risk from coronavirus should be offered a booster. This new JCVI advice means those aged 18 to 39 will also be eligible for a booster when the NHS calls them forward.

The booster will be offered in order of descending age groups, with priority given to the vaccination of older adults and those in a COVID-19 at-risk group. In response to the changing risk posed by the Omicron variant, the booster will now be given no sooner than 3 months after the primary course.

In addition, a second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for young people aged 12 to 15 years is advised no sooner than 12 weeks after the first dose.

The overall intention of the measures advised above is to accelerate the deployment of COVID-19 vaccines and raise levels of protection across the population.

Continued efforts will be made to offer COVID-19 vaccination to adults who have yet to receive any COVID-19 vaccinations.

JCVI will continue to review the programme and consider further evidence to ensure that health benefits are maximised alongside the rapidly evolving data on the Omicron variant.