COVID-19 Booster Dose: Who Gets the 3rd Jab? Experts Have Yet to Decide If All Brits Need Extra Protection

Recent reports on COVID-19 said experts still decide who needs to get a COVID-19 booster jab and if people who already received their vaccines early on are still sufficiently protected.

According to Mirror, plans on COVID-19 booster jab are still for confirmation as scientists are still deciding whether or not all Brits would need the extra protection.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization, or JVCI, is cautiously analyzing blood test samples and data from hospital admissions before approving the program.

Pediatrics professor at the University of Bristol, Adam Finn, also part of the JCVI board, said a more extensive booster program remains uncertain. He added; clearly, they do not want to provide people with vaccines that they don't need.

Science Times - COVID-19 Booster Dose: Who Gets the 3rd Jab? Experts Have Yet to Decide If All Brits Need Extra Protection
An Israeli health worker administers a third dose of the Pfizer-BioNtech COVID-19 vaccine on a man at the Maccabi Health Service in Jerusalem, on July 30, 2021, as Israel launches its campaign to give booster shots to people aged over 60. AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images


Rough Autumn and Winter Periods

Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer of England, cautioned that this global health crisis is far from over, and there may be one or two rough periods in the autumn and winter seasons.

In connection to this, the experts now want to further find out if those who already received their COVID-19 vaccines early on during the program's rollout have encountered a drop in protection against the virus.

Meanwhile, according to Professor Finn, it is possible that those who have got "immunosuppression of one kind or another," or individuals who have immunodeficiency, may need the booster dose.

Furthermore, Professor Andrew Pollard, Oxford Vaccine Group director, told the All-Party Parliamentary Group on COVID-19 that people need not panic because the waning of such protection would be slow.

The COVID-19 Booster Program

The National Health Service had said before that it needs a lot of warning of a COVID-19 booster program to plan the logistics of vaccinating millions of individuals against the virus.

According to the Chief of NHS Providers, Chris Hopson, given the present acceptance rate, vaccinating people below 30 years of age can take longer than hoped.

Hopson explained, if people have not had their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by now, their second jab will be slated for September.

He added, the slower it takes to get through those said groups, the more clash there'll be with the other vaccine works, and there will be a bigger challenge for the NHS as its service will need to distribute five different vaccine tasks simultaneously. Adding all that together makes it a highly complicated operation, he continued.

Flu and COVID-19 Vaccines to be Given at the Same Time

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said he would wait for the release of the JVCI to their most recent recommendation. He elaborated, he plans to offer the flu vaccine to people, especially those aged above 50 years old, at the same time.

Firstpost reported that approximately 30 million people are expected to be given COVID-19 booster dose starting September 6, alongside roughly 35 million flu vaccines and second jabs for individuals below 30 years of age.

A similar Newschant.com report specified, in its latest advice, the JVCI states that both the timing and magnitude of potential flu and COVID-19 infection waves for winter this year until next year are presently unknown. Meanwhile, France, Germany, and Israel are among the countries that have already begun managing booster jabs.

These countries' booster dose comes after the Department of Health and Social Care stated three in every four adults had attained each dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.

The division also stated that more than 86.7 million doses had been administered within the United Kingdom, with over 47 million individuals being administered a primary dose and over 39.6 million having each dose.

Related information about COVID-19 booster dose is shown on FOX 13 Tampa Bay's YouTube Video Below:

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