Everyone aged 50 and over in Wales will be offered a booster vaccine to protect them against Covid-19 this autumn, the Welsh Government has announced. The decision comes following an alarming rise in Covid cases since May.
The boosters will also be available to residents and staff working in care homes for older adults, frontline health and social care workers, those aged five to 49 in clinical risk groups, pregnant women and household contacts of people with immunosuppression or carers aged 16 to 49. Health Minister Eluned Morgan said all eligible people will be offered an autumn booster by the end of November.
The latest infection survey from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that an estimated 183,500 people - around one in 17 (6.04%) - in Wales had the virus during the week ending July 7. That is an increase on the one in 20 reported the week before. The rate is now approaching the record levels seen in the middle of March this year when close to 8% of the Welsh public had the virus. The number of people being actively being treated for the virus in hospital is also on the rise. You can read more about that here.
