Well Pharmacy is urging those eligible to take up the offer of a further Covid booster jab this spring.
Adults aged 75 years and over and anyone over 5 years old and are immunosuppressed - such as those who are undergoing chemotherapy or have had an organ
transplant - are entitled to have a further Covid booster jab from mid-April, said one of the UK's largest community pharmacy chains.
Taking part in the vaccination programme again, Well Pharmacy is encouraging people to book another booster as soon as they are contacted by the NHS - which
should be at least six months after their previous booster.
The national booking site for those eligible opens this week.
The jabs have been updated since the vaccines were introduced to now target newer strains of Covid-19, Well said in a press release issued on Wednesday, 5 April.
Thousands of people are still testing positive for Covid each week according to Government data, and - while hospitalisations are down - a large number of people
are still being hospitalised with Covid, so getting jabbed is as important as ever.
And the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recently confirmed that hospital admissions last autumn highlighted that the risk of becoming
seriously ill from coronavirus was noticeably higher in people over 75.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is encouraging people to come forward for their first and/ or second dose of the Covid vaccine before the free
offer ends on Friday (30 June).
The NHS's world-leading vaccination programme has so far delivered over 146 million Covid jabs.
Building on the success of autumn and spring booster programmes, a seasonal, targeted vaccination offer will remain open for those most at risk, in line with advice
from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
Health Minister Maria Caulfield said: "As we live with Covid without restrictions on our freedoms, it is right that we move towards a more targeted vaccination
offer that prioritises those most at risk, so we can focus our efforts on cutting waiting lists for NHS treatment - one of the Prime Minister's top five priorities.
As the offer for any adult to get a Covid vaccine comes to an end on 30 June, I would urge those who have not yet come forward to choose to have the first and second
Covid vaccine. It takes minutes to get your jab and thousands of sites are open across England."
This year's spring booster programme continues to gather pace, with over two million eligible people receiving their vital top-up dose.
A fourth dose of Covid-19 vaccine is not needed at present, as latest data shows first booster provides high levels of protection against Omicron variant among older adults, says the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
After analysing latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), JCVI said: "There is no immediate need to introduce a second booster dose, or fourth jab,
to the most vulnerable".
Data from UKSHA revealed that single booster dose provides around 90 per cent protection against hospitalisation to those aged 65 and over, even after three months of jab.
However, protection against mild symptomatic infection is short-lived and drops to around 30 per cent by about three months.
The study, which looked at booster doses in those aged over 65, showed that with two vaccine doses, protection against the infection drops to around 70 per cent after three months and to 50 per cent after six months.
Britain's booster programme for Covid-19 vaccinations is set to be expanded following advice from scientists.
The government's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said today (November 15) that all healthy adults aged 40-49 should be offered a booster, six months after their second dose.
Previously, the booster programme was limited to those aged 50 and over, and the clinically vulnerable.
So far, some 12.6 million people have had a booster dose.
The latest advice comes after the UK Health Security Agency released data from a real-world study which found the booster gave over 90 per cent protection against symptomatic Covid-19 for people aged 50 years and older.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has approved a second "bivalent" vaccine as a Covid-19 booster.
The updated booster vaccine made by Pfizer/BioNTech, targeting two coronavirus variants, has been approved for use in individuals aged 12 years and above.
In each dose of the booster vaccine, 'Comirnaty bivalent Original/Omicron', half of the vaccine (15 micrograms) targets the original virus strain and the other
half (15 micrograms) targets Omicron (BA.1).
Dr June Raine, MHRA chief executive said: "I am pleased to announce that we now have a second approved vaccine for the UK Autumn booster programme. The clinical
trial of the Pfizer/BioNTech bivalent vaccine showed a strong immune response against the Omicron BA.1 variant as well as the original strain.
Bivalent vaccines are helping us to meet the challenge of an ever-evolving virus, to help protect people against Covid-19 variants. We have in place a comprehensive
safety surveillance strategy for all UK-approved Covid-19 vaccines, and this will include the updated booster we approved today."
Boots UK's chief pharmacist has been encouraging people to get a flu vaccination by the end of November to help protect themselves, their loved ones and the
NHS this festive season.
Flu cases in the UK are usually highest in the winter months, from December to March. This year, the UK has seen a rise in cases earlier than usual, and therefore
Claire Nevinson, superintendent pharmacist at Boots, reminds people that it is even more important to get protected early to help reduce the risk of spreading the
virus due to increased mixing at Christmas parties and family get togethers.
Approximately 33 million people are eligible for the free NHS flu jab, including those over 50 years of age, pregnant women and those with medical conditions such as
diabetes or heart disease.
The pharmacy multiple says it offers the winter flu jab service, which is suitable for those eligible for the free NHS flu jab as well as privately, adding that it
has already administered over one million flu vaccinations this season.
Ms Nevinson explains: "December is a time to get together with friends and family to celebrate the month's festivities. It's a good idea to plan ahead to ensure you
have your flu jab, and your COVID-19 booster vaccination if you are eligible, if you've not had them already, this the best way to protect yourself and reduce the
risk of passing the viruses to others.
Covid-19 vaccine makers are shifting gears and planning for a smaller, more competitive booster shot market after delivering as many doses as fast as they
could over the last 18 months.
Executives at the biggest Covid vaccine makers including Pfizer and Moderna said they believe most people who wanted to get vaccinated against Covid have already done so - more than five billion people worldwide.
In the coming year, most Covid vaccinations will be booster shots, or first inoculations for children, which are still gaining regulatory approvals around the world, they said.
Pfizer, which makes its shot with Germany's BioNTech and Moderna still see a major role for themselves in the vaccine market even as overall demand declines.
Upstart US vaccine maker Novavax and Germany's CureVac, which is working with GlaxoSmithKline, are developing vaccines they hope to target at the booster market.
The roles of AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, whose shots have been less popular or effective, are expected to decline in this market.
All adults aged 50 years and above are eligible for free flu jabs in England under the autumn Covid-19 booster programme, the Department of Health and Social
Care (DHSC) has announced.
"The flu virus could also be highly infectious at this time of year, so I am also announcing that those eligible for a free flu vaccination this year will include
everyone aged 50 and over, primary school children and secondary school pupils in years 7, 8 and 9, as well as people in clinical risk groups, unpaid carers and
household contacts of those who are immunosuppressed," said new health secretary Steve Barclay.
Commenting on the DHSC's announcement, CCA chief executive Malcolm Harrison said: "We welcome the decision to accept the advice of the JCVI on who can have free
Covid-19 boosters and flu jabs this autumn. Community pharmacies have turbo-charged the Covid-19 vaccination programme over the past 18 months and last year we
witnessed the most successful community pharmacy flu campaign ever."
It is not sustainable to give Covid-19 booster shots every three to six in the long term, Britain's chief scientific adviser said on Tuesday (January 4), even though the booster rollout is needed in the short term to combat the Omicron variant.
"It would be a situation that isn't tenable to say everyone's going to need to be having another vaccine every three or six months.
"That's not the long-term view of where this goes to," Patrick Vallance said at a news conference, adding that annual booster shots against Covid-19 might be necessary, similar to flu shots.
Community pharmacists in England have slammed the government's latest decision to reduce the number of people who get a free winter flu jab in the 2022-23 flu season, as concerns related to Covid-19 still exist.
This follows a letter from the NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) to clinicians, which stated that the flu vaccination service in 2022-23 will be offered to
patient groups eligible in line with pre-pandemic recommendations. The eligibility was widened significantly after the pandemic struck in 2020 to help reduce the death toll from the Covid-19.
With the change in place people aged 50-64 and schoolchildren aged 11-15 will not be eligible to receive the free jabs on the NHS next winter, pushing millions of people to pay for their jabs privately.
It further recommended that vaccination for frontline healthcare workers and social care workers should be provided by employers as part of the organisation's policy to prevent the transmission of infection.
NHS England has agreed to offer an additional payment of £2.50 per jab if pharmacies would be willing to extend the duration of their COVID-19 vaccination
contract until 31st August 2024.
Pharmacies currently providing the autumn vaccination are asked to let their local commissioner know, by 22nd February 2024, if they can provide cover for a
potential Spring booster programme, if the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advises in their guidance expected to be published soon.
NHS figures showed that more than 3,500 community pharmacies signed the contract to deliver COVID-19 vaccinations between 1 September 2023 and 31 March 2024, as
part of the autumn booster programme.
The health service is hoping that most of these pharmacies will be able to continue to support the Spring campaign, which will run from 1 April 2024 to 31st
August 2024, to help protect the nation's most vulnerable populations.
For the Spring campaign only, pharmacies would be offered an extra £2.50 per jab in addition to the existing item of service fee of £7.54, NHS England said.
French drugmaker Sanofi said on Monday (June 13) an upgraded version of the Covid-19 vaccine candidate it is developing with GSK showed potential in two
trials to protect against the virus's main variants of concern, including the Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 strains, when used as a booster shot.
While the two companies' first experimental Covid shot is undergoing review by the European Medicines Agency, Sanofi and GSK have continued work on a vaccine that
is moulded on the now-supplanted Beta variant, hoping still that it will confer broad protection against future viral mutations.
Sanofi said this new vaccine candidate was shown to significantly boost antibody levels against a number of variants of concern, when given to trial participants
who had an initial course of mRNA vaccines, a type made by BioNTech-Pfizer and Moderna.
In a separate trial conducted by a French hospitals network, Sanofi's Beta-adapted booster shot triggered a higher immune response than Sanofi's first-generation
shot or Pfizer-BioNTech's established vaccine in previously vaccinated volunteers.
The NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme has administered more than 40 million second doses following a bumper week that saw over 200,000 people coming forward
for their second jab.
Last week, more than 65,000 people aged 18 and over also stepped up to get their first dose of the Covid-19 jab.
The NHS continued to encourage people to come forward for their first, second or third doses.
Recent data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) showed that two doses of the vaccine are not enough to avoid the Omicron infection, but a booster significantly
increases protection against the variant.
Since the start of vaccination programme, NHS England has administered more than 113 million jabs in total. However, more than 1.1 million people aged 18 and over have still not come forward for their second dose.
The government has launched a new campaign over social media and radio today (January 10) to encourage pregnant women to take their first, second and third dose of Covid-19 vaccine.
Joined by experts at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and the Royal College of Midwives (RCM), the campaign highlights the risks of the infection and benefits of vaccination.
According to the latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), Covid-19 vaccinations are safe for pregnant women.
Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) chief scientific adviser professor Lucy Chappell, said: "We have extensive evidence now to show that the vaccines are safe and that the risks posed by Covid-19 are far greater," calling upon pregnant women who have yet to have their jabs.
The campaign will also run testimonies of pregnant women who have had their jabs.
As part of efforts to streamline spending and enhance resource allocation within the healthcare system, the NHS has chosen to cease providing the free
vaccinations for all, which were initially introduced in 2020. Approximately 12 million British citizens will not have access to free flu vaccinations and
Covid-19 boosters during the upcoming winter, according to NHS.
Furthermore, the NHS plans to defer flu vaccine distribution to October, aiming to heighten protection for those aged 65 and older and other eligible groups in
the high-risk winter months. However, this has stirred panic among pharmacies, given their advanced planning based on the initial start date of September 1 for
vaccinations.
On Tuesday (Aug. 8), the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) released NHS guidelines indicating that Covid-19 booster shots, starting from autumn,
will not be provided to individuals aged 50 to 64 who are in otherwise good health. Similar guidance had already been released for flu, rendering 12 million
middle-aged Britons ineligible for free jabs, JCVI said.
Prior to the pandemic, influenza vaccinations were available to healthy adults aged over 65, alongside children and younger adults with medical conditions. Amidst
the pandemic, the distribution of flu vaccinations was expanded to include individuals aged 50 to 64, in alignment with the criteria for Covid-19 boosters.
Britain is looking at the possibility of changing rules on mandatory vaccination for healthcare staff, chief secretary to the Treasury Simon Clarke said on Monday (January 31).
"We do recognise those realities and that does open a space where we can look at this again," Clarke said.
Sky News reported Clarke as saying that the policy of mandatory jabs was something that ministers had "always kept under review".
As the deadline for the frontline healthcare workers to get fully vaccinated approaches, tens of thousands of NHS staff who have not yet taken the Covid-19
vaccine face termination in just a fortnight.
Although it is estimated that the majority of NHS staff have been fully jabbed, health and social care providers in England will soon be needed to ensure that all those working in areas regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), are fully vaccinated against Covid-19 before the April 1, 2022.
Those who are exempted from taking the vaccination do not fall under this purview.
According to the NHS England guidance around Vaccination as a Condition of Deployment (VCOD) for healthcare workers, all frontline staff must have had both the doses by April 1, meaning that by February 3 the first must have been administered and the second by March 31.
All unvaccinated frontline workers will be called into formal meetings from February 4 and given a warning of dismissal. Notices will then be issued from that day, with March 31 marking the end of the notice period
Prime minister Boris Johnson announced on Wednesday (January 19) that restrictions re-imposed in England last month would be lifted by from next Thursday (January 27).
In the latest development, the government has decided to end the guidance on working from home, asking employers to make adequate arrangements to return safely to work.
From the start of next Thursday, mandatory certification based on vaccines and tests will end, however, organisations can still choose to use the NHS Covid Pass voluntarily.
Besides, the legal mandate to wear face masks will go away from next week.
Making a statement to the House of Commons on Covid-19, he said that infection levels are falling in England mainly because of the country's "extraordinary booster campaign".
He noted more than 36 million Covid-19 booster jabs had been delivered, with over 90 percent of over-60s now given a third dose.
"Our scientists believe it is likely that the Omicron wave has now peaked nationally," Johnson added, while cautioning "the pandemic is not over".
"I encourage everyone across the country to continue with all the cautious behaviours that we know help to keep each everybody safe."
Deviating from the initial schedule to kick off the flu and Covid-19 vaccination campaigns in October, the NHS England has announced that the autumn
vaccination drive will commence sooner than expected in England, starting on September 11. This decision was taken as a precaution in response to a new Covid-19
variant.
The precautionary measure is being taken as the Department of Health and Social Care and the UK Health Security Agency examined the variant BA.2.86, which was first
detected in the UK on Friday, August 18, 2023, the NHSE said on Aug. 30.
While NHS England had previously announced that vaccinations for both NHS programmes would begin on October 2 for residents of older adult care homes, appointments
for other eligible groups were scheduled for the following week, starting on October 7. This decision prompted community pharmacy leaders to denounce the delayed
start of the flu service as 'unacceptable'.
Backed by a £22.5 million of government funding, community vaccine champions will tap into their local networks and encourage people in their communities to get vaccinated against the Covid-19.
The funding, allocated today (January 13) to 60 councils, will help deliver bespoke projects in these regions, including:
In Derby and Newham roving vaccinators and a vaccine bus will visit workplaces, places of worship and local highstreets.Videos shared on social media featuring local sporting stars, TV actors, local community and faith leaders and local NHS staff in Southampton.Developing a community transport to support access to vaccination sites/pop-ups and considering 'Grab a Jab' taxis scheme.As per NHS statistics, over 4.6 million people aged 18 and above remained unvaccinated in the 60 councils, selected to be a part of the Community Vaccine Champions programme.
Vaccines minister Maggie Throup said: "Thanks to the pace and scale of our Covid-19 vaccination programme, we are in a much better position than this time last year."