Covid booster jabs will be available to millions more in England from tomorrow (December 12).
Anyone between the ages of 30 and 39 will be able to make an appointment to receive their third vaccine, as long as three months have passed since their second dose.
The move comes as the UK faces a major wave of infections in January due to the Omicron variant.
Health and Social Affairs Secretary Sajid Javid said: “The Covid-19 recall program is accelerating rapidly and more than 22 million people in the UK have already received their supplement, ensuring life-saving protection before Christmas.
“This is our national mission – the most recent data shows that boosters are the essential defense against Omicron and we are doing everything in our power to put the jabs in the arms as quickly as possible.
“We are now expanding the offer to those over 30, so please show up as soon as possible to get a boost and help our country get ahead of this race with the variant.”
Who is eligible for their third jab starting Monday?
There are around 7.5 million people aged 30 to 39 in England.
About 3.5 million of them are eligible for boosters as of Monday, NHS England said.
All eligible adults can reserve their booster dose two months (61 days) after their second dose.
However, the third jab should take place three months (91 days) after their second dose.
Does the jab booster protect against the Omicron variant?
Analysis by the UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA) found that the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines offered “much lower” levels of protection against symptomatic Omicron infections compared to Delta.
However, the agency said that a booster dose offers around 70% to 75% protection against symptomatic infection with Omicron, as it urged people to take their boosters.
Figures released on Saturday 11 December showed there had been an additional 633 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant reported across the UK.
A breakdown of the data showed there had been 618 other confirmed cases in England, 11 in Scotland, two in Wales and two in Northern Ireland.
That brings the UK’s overall figure on Saturday to 1,898 confirmed cases – which was up 50% from Friday’s figure when the total was 1,265.
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Source: www.bedfordtoday.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-12-12 11:13:37
