It is a "strong possibility" that booster Covid-19 vaccines will be given every autumn alongside flu jabs for people considered most at risk, a member of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has said.
Professor Adam Finn was asked by BBC Breakfast if older and vulnerable people can expect an annual Covid-19 jab along with the existing yearly flu vaccine.
He said: “It’s hard to be absolutely sure about that, but the direction of discussion at the moment is certainly a booster campaign in the autumn, directed probably at the people who… we think are most at risk.
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“Whether that goes on year after year like the flu programme is still an open question and depends on what coronavirus does to us in the interim, but it’s a strong possibility that we may have a winter-time campaign, combined with the flu vaccine campaign, going forward.”
Boris Johnson set out England's " Living with Covid " strategy, including an end to isolation requirements and free routine testing.
Professor Finn, who stressed the importance of older people and the vulnerable coming forward for their spring booster shot, said there is concern about the lifting of restrictions, as "we really can't predict the future with all that much confidence".
He added: "We have to make a best guess, we have to base it on the evidence that we’ve got and we clearly all of us don’t want to go back to a position where large numbers of people are dying and being admitted to hospital.
“But we have to make the best call that we can.
“And I think the public have done a lot to mitigate the seriousness of the pandemic by being cautious, avoiding transmitting infection to each other, taking vaccines, wearing masks and so on. And I hope they’ll go on doing that.”
The Prime Minister warned “the pandemic is not over” and “there may be significant resurgences” as he hailed the vaccine programme.
Mr Johnson acknowledged there is likely to be another variant that will “cause us trouble”, saying he did not want people to think “there’s some division between the gung ho politicians and the cautious, anxious scientists”.
He said: “The most important thing is that – and I hope this is the big take out from this… the sun is shining but we’re keeping our umbrella.”
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the public should remain cautious, despite his party announcing an end to mandatory isolation for those who test positive.
He told Sky News: “Covid is still out there. We may be done with Covid, but it is certainly not done with us and we have to remain cautious and vigilant.
“That is why we set out yesterday just how we will continue to do that, so vaccines remain an important part of our defences.
“The antivirals and other treatments that we have also will play a continued important role.
“But also we’ve put in place a surveillance system so that we’re able to detect any potential future threats, and also the ability for us to react quickly.”
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