LONDON: Front-line health and social care workers, parents and clinically vulnerable in the UK will begin receiving the Booster Jab against Covid-19 from next week, the government said on Tuesday.
Health Minister Sajid Javid told parliament he had approved recommendations from the Committee Advisory Agency with Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) to start the program.
He also approved a controversial proposal to offer Jabs to children aged 12-15 as a concern about the spread of the virus in school.
Chairman JCVI Wei Shen Lim previously said this program will be introduced to provide extra protection as a winter moon approach.
The level of Covid infection remains stubborn in the UK, although the mass vaccination program that has seen around 81 percent of all adults receive two doses of vaccines.
And remains a concern because the weather changes cooler and social mixing increases indoors, Covid and other respiratory diseases such as seasonal flu will run rampant.
The government has a contingency plan to reintroduce the steps including working from homes and masks used to be done spiral and placing health services under severe pressure, Javid gives parliamentarians.
“Every responsible government must prepare all possibilities,” he said.
“We must remain vigilant when we approach this critical chapter.” Lim said the data showed a “small decrease” in the effectiveness of covid vaccines after the second dose of “slightly more than 90 percent to a little below 90 percent”.
The most marked decrease is on people over 50 years, making it wise to give them and other risk groups “Third” Booster “shots.
He said at a press conference his goal was to ensure” the level of protection would be higher during the month The coldest month of this year “, in line with a number of other countries.
British medicines and the Health Product Regulatory Agency (MHRA), June Raine, said the Pfizer, Modern and AstraZeneca vaccine can all be used.
Preferences are given to Pfizer and Moderna, the last will Given as half a dose.
Jab can be given at the same time as the flu vaccine, he added.
Deputy Deputy Head of British Medical Jonathan Van-Tam said the latest estimate was that the British vaccination program had transferred around 24 million Covid cases and 112,000 deaths.
But he warned that he warned Winter can still “wavy” at times and there is a need for “tet AP above various things “with the JAC booster program because the pandemic is still active.
“It’s better to be pre-emptive, to prepare and plan the worst possibility,” he told reporters, equalizing it to put extra guide straps on the tent before storm hits.