Health Secretary Steve Barclay orders some 26M UK residents should receive new 'variant-busting' Covid booster by December in effort to ease seasonal pressure on the National Health Service
- There are no plans as of yet to administer a fourth dose to those under the age of 50, NHS England has confirmed.
- The vaccine to protect the most vulnerable against Omicron will begin its roll out in a week
- the same day that Liz Truss is expected to be confirmed at the new UK prime minister.
- As of yet, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has decreed that no younger age groups than the most vulnerable should be offered the extra layer of protection. An NHS England source, said: “They decide who is eligible for the jabs and we deliver them.”
- The NHS will be the first healthcare system across the globe to use a bivalent, which protects both against the prevalent Omicron strain and the original virus types. Staff of care homes and residents alike, as well as those who are housebound will be the first in line to receive their jab starting a week today.
- And the following week, the National Booking Service will be open for those aged 75 and over to determine an appointment. Those who are immunosuppressed will also be able to walk into their local GP surgery or pharmacy to have their dose on request.