UK expert advisory panel recommends third booster dose of COVID-19 vaccine
London:
A UK expert advisory panel on Tuesday recommended that a third booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine would be beneficial for people over the age of 50 and frontline healthcare workers to increase their protection against the deadly virus during the winter months.
The Joint Committee on Immunization and Immunization (JCVI) recommendation states that Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccines are ideal for use as a third jab six months after the second dose to boost immunity with a second dose.
“Getting the dose too early can mean they don’t need it because they still have a high level of protection, and as we’ve seen with the difference between the first and second doses, you can take it too early.” Don’t want to be taken,” JCVI President Professor Wei Shen Lim told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday.
He also indicated that a recurrent booster every six months may not be needed, but it is too early to be sure.
England’s Deputy Chief Medical Officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said that following the JCVI’s decision, he hopes boosters will be introduced “within days” and will be largely in vaccination centers and GPs.
Van-Tam warned of a “bumpy” winter despite the vaccines being “incredibly successful” and had so far prevented an estimated 24 million COVID-19 cases and 112,000 deaths.
“But we also know that this pandemic is still active. We have not moved beyond the pandemic, we are still in an active phase,” he said.
“We know that this winter can be quite bumpy at times and we know that other respiratory viruses like flu and RSV are highly likely to make their return,” he said.
The JCVI briefing comes ahead of a government statement outlining its winter strategy to tackle COVID-19 without resorting to further lockdowns.
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