In continuation of the NHS Covid vaccine programme, Covid jabs for five and six-year olds will be available at the local vaccination centres or community pharmacies outside of school hours.
Following the recent JCVI guidance that recommended all children between 5 and 11 would benefit from a non-urgent offer of the COVID vaccine, the NHS will send
invitations to one million families with five and six-year-olds this week.
"Invitations being sent to families this week will set out how easy and convenient it is to take up the offer of a vaccine as part of the NHS COVID vaccination
programme by booking through the National Booking Service, or visiting their nearest walk-in site," NHS said.
Between April 25 and May 1, there are already more than 33,500 children aged five to 11 booked in for their dose of the life-saving vaccine, with a further 50,000 slots still available.
Dr Nikki Kanani, GP and Deputy Lead for the NHS COVID-19 vaccination programme, said: "It is great to see so many families already booked in for their children to receive their Covid vaccine this week, helping to protect themselves against potential future waves of the virus.
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."
American global healthcare company, Viatris, has launched a new rapid self-test for qualitative detection of antibodies developed after Covid-19 vaccinations.
The firm is going to market the Covid-19 Neutralising IgG Serological self-test, manufactured by PRIMA Lab SA, in the UK market, which would check presence of
neutralising antibodies after vaccination.
The presence of antibodies indicates that a person has had an immune response to the Covid-19 vaccine, and not that protective immunity has been acquired. The self-test that can be performed easily at home with a small blood sample, delivers results in just 10 minutes and has a recommended retail price of sub £20.
After two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, the self-test has shown a seroconversion rate of 98.3 per cent for the Pfizer vaccine, 98.5 per cent for the AstraZeneca vaccine and 95.2 per cent for the Moderna vaccine.
It recommended that the test be performed at least 14 days after completing the vaccination cycle.
Prime minister Borris Johnson visited a Boots vaccination site in his west London constituency of Uxbridge on Monday (January 10) - as the pharmacy chain celebrates its anniversary of supporting the NHS Covid-19 vaccination drive.
During the visit, the prime minister met with some pharmacists who have been administering Covid-19 booster jabs to patients.
Since opening the first vaccination site at its Halifax store in January 2021, Boots UK has administered over 1.4 million Covid-19 jabs, and continues to offer booster doses at over 80 pharmacies, the company said in a statement.
Continuing its support for the Covid-19 booster programme, Boots has doubled appointment capacity and added a small number of new sites since December 2021.
Boots vaccination programme director Nick Sunderland said: "We are so proud of our pharmacists who have worked incredibly hard to support the national effort to accelerate the Covid-19 booster vaccination programme.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on Tuesday authorised a Covid-19 vaccine for infants as young as six months, opening the door
for vaccinating the country's youngest children once the UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) agrees.
The regulator authorised the vaccine - made by Pfizer and BioNTech - for children aged six months to four years old, after it was deemed safe and effective based on
an ongoing clinical trial involving 4,526 participants.
Whether the vaccine is eventually deployed in this age group depends on a recommendation from the JCVI, which advises UK health departments on which shots should be
used as part of the national vaccination programme.
The vaccine is tailored for use in this age group - it is a lower dose version than the one used in children aged five to 11 years. It is given as three injections
in the upper arm, with the first two doses given three weeks apart, followed by a third dose administered at least two months after the second dose.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised booster vaccination to be offered this autumn (2023) for those at higher risk of severe
Covid-19 in its interim advice to government on the coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination programme for 2023.
The JCVI also advised that for a smaller group of people, such as those who are older and those who are immunosuppressed, an extra booster vaccine dose in the spring
should also be planned for.
Professor Wei Shen Lim, Chair of Covid-19 vaccination on the JCVI, said: "The Covid-19 vaccination programme continues to reduce severe disease across the population,
while helping to protect the NHS.
That is why we have advised planning for further booster vaccines for persons at higher risk of serious illness through an autumn booster programme later this year.
We will very shortly also provide final advice on a spring booster programme for those at greatest risk."
The NHS on Sunday (January 30) expanded its Covid-19 vaccination programme to include vulnerable children aged five to 11 years.
Eligible children include those with diabetes, immunosuppression, learning disabilities, and other conditions as outlined by the UK Health Security Agency in the Green Book.
Besides, children living with someone immunosuppressed will be eligible to get the first dose of the Covid vaccine in line with advice issued by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
According to the NHS there are around 500,000 eligible children in the latest cohort.
GP and deputy lead for NHS vaccination programme Dr Nikki Kanani, said: "We know vaccines give significant protection against severe illness from Covid - including the omicron variant, so it is important that our youngest and most at-risk get protected.
The NHS on Sunday (January 30) expanded its Covid-19 vaccination programme to include vulnerable children aged five to 11 years.
Eligible children include those with diabetes, immunosuppression, learning disabilities, and other conditions as outlined by the UK Health Security Agency in the Green Book.
Additionally, children living with someone immunosuppressed will be eligible to get the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in line with advice issued by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).
According to the NHS, there are around 500,000 eligible children in the latest cohort.
GP and deputy lead for NHS vaccination programme Dr Nikki Kanani, said: "We know vaccines give significant protection against severe illness from Covid - including the omicron variant, so it is important that our youngest and most at-risk get protected.
The government has accepted the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation's (JCVI) advice for the autumn 2024 COVID-19 vaccination programme.
According to the JCVI, the following groups will be eligible for vaccination this autumn:
Individuals aged 65 and over
Residents of care homes for older adults
Those aged 6 months and older in clinical risk groups
Minister for Public Health and Prevention, Andrew Gwynne, emphasised the importance of protecting vulnerable populations from COVID-19 and reducing pressure on
the NHS.
He said: "We are committed to protecting those most vulnerable from COVID and have accepted the independent advice from the JCVI for the autumn 2024 vaccination
programme."
"I encourage anyone invited for a vaccine to get one as soon as possible to protect yourself and reduce pressure on the NHS during winter, helping to cut waiting
times and get the health service back on its feet."
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.
The General Pharmaceutical Council reiterated its stand on Covid-19 vaccination, saying, "Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians working in all settings across Great Britain should be vaccinated against Covid -19, unless they are medically exempt."
In a statement issued today (February 11), it strongly urged all pharmacyprofessionals, students and trainees to get fully vaccinated at the earliest.
This reiteration follows the government's announcement on January 31, 2022 that it would not proceed with Covid vaccination as a mandatory condition of deployment
for health and care staff providing CQC-regulated services in England.
The Council stated that clinical trials have proven the efficacy and safety of Covid vaccines and the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has authorised their use in the UK.
All children aged five to 11 in England will be offered a Covid-19 vaccine, the government said on Wednesday (February 16) - following similar announcements
in the rest of the UK.
The move, coming nearly two months after British regulators approved Pfizer and BioNTech's shot for use among the age group, sees Britain following the lead of the
United States, the European Union and other countries.
It has only been vaccinating at-risk under-12s and those who live with immuno-suppressed people, using a lower-dose formulation of the jab that was found to be "safe
and effective".
However, health secretary Sajid Javid - who has responsibility for England only - said he had now accepted guidance from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and
Immunisation, which advises UK health departments, to expand the rollout.
"The NHS will prepare to extend this non-urgent offer to all children during April so parents can, if they want, take up the offer to increase protection against
potential future waves of Covid-19 as we learn to live with this virus," he said in a statement.
Health services in the UK today (January 4) marked the first anniversary of the deployment of the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine in fight against Covid-19.
Exactly a year ago, the UK became the first country in the world to administer the vaccine by jabbing Brian Pinker, 82 at Oxford University Hospital.
So far, around 50 million AstraZeneca vaccines have been administered to people in the UK.
Commenting on the landmark day, vaccines minister Maggie Throup said: "The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine is a UK success story and demonstrates what can be achieved when researchers, scientists and the government work together.
"The at-cost vaccine has given billions of people around the world a way to fight back against this virus."
Further, she urged people to get vaccinated to protect themselves and their families this winter.
Covid-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna that use mRNA technology provide the biggest boost to antibody levels when given 10-12 weeks after the second dose, a new study has found.
The "COV-Boost" study was cited by UK officials when they announced that Pfizer and Moderna were preferred for use in the country's booster campaign, but the data has only been made publicly available now.
The study found that six out of the seven boosters examined enhanced immunity after initial vaccination with Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine, while all seven increased immunity when given after two doses of AstraZeneca's vaccine.
"A third dose will be effective for many of the vaccines we've tested and in many different combinations," Professor Saul Faust, an immunologist at the University of Southampton and the trial's lead, told the media.
More than 7,000 hospitalisations and deaths in the UK could have been averted in summer 2022 if people had received their recommended COVID-19 vaccine doses,
a new study published in The Lancet has revealed.
The largest ever study carried out in the UK found that between a third and a half of the UK population had not had the recommended number of COVID vaccinations and
boosters by summer 2022.
In Northern Ireland, nearly 50 per cent of the population were under-vaccinated, while the proportion of under-vaccinated people in England was 45.7 per cent,
34.2 per cent for Scotland and 32.8 per cent Wales.
Researchers from the Health Data Research UK (HDR UK) and the University of Edinburgh analysed the electronic health records of 67 million residents aged 5 and
older from across the four countries during June 1 to September 30 2022.
GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi said on Wednesday (December 15) they expect data from late-stage clinical trials of its booster dose of their Covid-19 vaccine candidate in the first quarter, instead of this year, another delay for the potential shot.
The news came as two companies said preliminary data from trials showed the single-dose booster provided strong immune responses. They added that they need more
time to test the booster on more people who have not been infected by the virus before they can submit data to regulators.
The Phase III trial for the recombinant adjuvanted Covid-19 vaccine recruited most participants in the third quarter, coinciding with a significant increase in the number of people infected globally due to the Delta variant, it said.
"To provide the necessary data to regulatory authorities for the booster vaccine submission, the trial will continue to accrue the number of events needed for analysis, with results expected in Q1, 2022."
No safety concerns were identified.
This is the latest delay for the vaccine's development, putting the companies further behind rivals in the race for Covid-19 shots.
Britain has become the first country to approve a Codiv-19 vaccine that targets both the original and Omicron variant of the virus.
Medicines regulator MHRA approved the so-called bivalent vaccine made by US drug company Moderna as a booster for adults.
The agency's decision was based on clinical trial data that showed the booster triggered "a strong immune response" against both Omicron (BA.1) and the original
2020 virus, it said.
The MHRA also cited an exploratory analysis in which the shot was also found to generate a good immune response against the currently dominant Omicron offshoots BA.4
and BA.5.
"The first generation of Covid-19 vaccines being used in the UK continue to provide important protection against the disease and save lives," MHRA chief executive
June Raine said in a statement.
"What this bivalent vaccine gives us is a sharpened tool in our armoury to help protect us against this disease as the virus continues to evolve."
Britain has approved Novavax's Covid-19 vaccine for use in those 18 years of age and older, the country's medicines regulator said on Thursday (February 3), bringing a fifth coronavirus shot to its roster amidst the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.
The vaccine, Nuvaxovid, was approved as a first and second dose as it met the required safety, quality and effectiveness standards, the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said in a statement.
The British approval for Nuvaxovid comes days after the drugmaker filed for US authorisation of the vaccine following months of struggles with development and manufacturing problems, and follows a German backing earlier in the day.
"We are continuing our vital safety work in monitoring the use of all Covid-19 vaccines, to ensure that their benefits in protecting people against Covid-19 disease continue to outweigh any risks," MHRA chief executive June Raine said.
Britain's Covid booster campaign is set to kick off this September, after the country became the first in the world to approve an Omicron-adapted shot.
Around 26 million people in Britain are estimated to be eligible for an autumn Covid-19 booster, having had at least two Covid vaccine doses already, a UK Health
Security Agency (UKHSA) spokesperson said.
The preference is to deploy what is known as a "bivalent vaccine" that targets both the original virus and the Omicron variant through the autumn campaign, but that
will depend on the health regulator (MHRA) approving such shots and the state of vaccine supplies.
The UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised boosters should be given to over-50s, individuals in clinical risk groups, frontline
workers and care-home staff ahead of the winter, when respiratory viruses are typically at their peak.
On Monday (August 15), the MHRA gave Moderna's bivalent shot conditional approval.
The endorsement of the vaccine is based on data that showed it produced a marginally better immune response against some Omicron variants, versus the original novel
coronavirus - although whether that translates into stronger protection against serious disease is unclear.
Britain has approved a new coronavirus vaccine by the Austrian-French drugmaker Valneva.
"An approval has been granted after the Valneva Covid-19 vaccine was found to meet the required safety, quality and effectiveness standards," the Medicines and
Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said in a statement on Thursday (April 14), adding: "It is also the first, whole-virus inactivated Covid-19 vaccine to gain
regulatory approval in the UK."
In vaccines such as Valneva's VLA2001, the virus is grown in a lab and then made completely inactive so that it cannot infect cells or replicate in the body but can still trigger an immune response. It is seen by some as having the potential to win over people wary of some which use new mRNA technology.
Valneva CEO Thomas Lingelbach said that "this authorisation could pave the way for the availability of an alternative vaccine solution for the UK population."