LONDON: The launch of the British Covid-19 booster vaccine must be expanded to people between 40 and 49, officials said on Monday, in an effort to increase immunity in cooler winter months.
At present everyone is 50 years and over, those who are clinically vulnerable and frontline workers are qualified for booster, and combined committees on vaccination and immunization (JCVI) say that the launch will be extended.
The suggestion came as a British Health Security Agency released data from real-world studies that found Booster providing more than 90% protection against Covid-19 symptomatic for people aged 50 years and over.
PM Boris Johnson leaned against the booster vaccine and shot for children to try to hold back the winter pressure in the hospital without using another lock.
“If the Booster program is successful, and with very high absorption, we can massively reduce concerns about hospitalization and death because of Covid on Christmas, and for the rest of this winter, because it is literally millions of people,” Deputy Head of Jonathan Medical Officer Van Tam said.
England mainly used Pfizer-Bionontech and Moderna shots in the launch of the booster, with people qualifying six months after their second shot.
The real-world study found that protection against symptomatic disease after the booster was 93.1% for people who were originally given astrazeneca vaccines, and 94% for people who had been given a pfizer shot initially.
However, the panel refused to recommend Booster for under 40s, said it did not find strong evidence of the decline in protection.