More than 350,000 people have had their Covid-19 autumn booster in Nottingham and the surrounding county. If you are eligible but have not yet stepped forward to claim the autumn 2022 jab, time is running out. The vaccination programme comes to an end on February 12.
According to the Department for Health and Social Care, while boosters are still expected to be offered in spring and autumn 2023 for people in certain groups - those at higher risk of severe disease, for instance - the autumn programme and the initial booster rollout for 16 to 49-year-olds will come to an end.
In a tweet, the department announced: "We're changing the Covid vaccination programme for 2023 after advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination & Immunisation (JCVI). The current autumn booster & some initial boosters end in England on 12 February so please come forward if eligible."
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It went on to say that the date will also be marking an end to initial boosters for 16 to 49-year-olds not in a clinical risk group. In its interim advice to the Government on the coronavirus vaccination programme for 2023, the JCVI advised that plans should be made for those at higher risk of severe Covid to be offered a booster vaccination in autumn 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. Advice regarding the spring 2023 Covid programme will be provided shortly.
It also advised that emergency surge vaccine responses may be required should a novel variant of concern emerge with clinically significant biological differences compared to the Omicron variant. Professor Wei Shen Lim, chair of Covid vaccination on the JCVI, said: "The Covid 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."
They added: "We will very shortly also provide final advice on a spring booster programme for those at greatest risk." People can book an appointment on the NHS website or by calling 119. Or you can also get a dose of the Covid vaccine from a walk-in site without an appointment. People can find their nearest walk-in sites on the NHS website.
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