A new Covid variant has spread across the UK with daily cases now at 65,929, according to The Zoe Health Study.
The new variant, dubbed Eris was first classified as a variant in the UK on 31 July, but now accounts for one in 10 Covid cases.
As cases continue to rise, vaccination programmes in the country are now entering their third autumn.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has said the vaccine will be offered to “ those at high risk of serious disease and who are therefore most likely to benefit from vaccination.”
Professor Wei Shen Lim, Chair of Covid-19 immunisation on the JCVI, said: “The autumn booster programme will continue to focus on those at greatest risk of getting seriously ill. These persons will benefit the most from a booster vaccination.
“It is important that everyone who is eligible takes up a booster this autumn – helping to prevent them from hospitalisations and deaths arising from the virus over the winter months,” he continued.
Last year’s autumn booster programme ended on 20 February 2023. Data up to 12 March showed that 73.2% of people aged 65 to 70 years in England had been vaccinated and this increased in older cohorts rising to 83.7% (just under 2.5 million) in those aged over 80 years, according to the JCVI.
But what does this mean for you and can you purchase the vaccine even if you are not being offered the vaccine?
Who is eligible to get the vaccine right now?
The JCVI advises the following groups be offered a Covid-19 booster vaccine this autumn:
• Residents in a care home for older adults.
• All adults aged 65 and over.
• People aged 6 months to 64 years in a clinical risk group, as laid out in the Immunisation Green Book (The Green Book has the latest information on vaccines and vaccination procedures, for vaccine-preventable infectious diseases in the UK).
• Frontline health and social care workers.
• People aged 12 to 64 years who are household contacts of people with immunosuppression. This is when a person has a weakened immune system due to a particular health condition or because they are on medication or treatment that suppresses their immune system.
• People aged 16 to 64 years who are carers and staff working in care homes for older adults.
The JCVI has also said further advice on the choice of vaccine products for use this autumn will be provided in “due course”.
Can I just buy the vaccine?
No, you cannot. It is not possible to buy the Covid vaccine as it is only available through the NHS vaccination programme.
Private Coronavirus vaccination is not available at the present time.
Which vaccine will I be given?
According to the NHS, there are several different Covid vaccines in use in the UK at the moment, which have all met strict standards of safety, quality and effectiveness.
If you do get the vaccine, you cannot choose which one you want - you will be provided with what is available at the time.
The vaccines approved for use in the UK are:
• Moderna (Spikevax)
• Pfrizer/BioNTech (Comirnaty)
• Novavax (Nuvaxovid)
• Sanofi and GSK (VidPrevtyn Beta)
Dr Mary Ramsay, Director of Public Health Programmes at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said: “The COVID-19 virus has not gone away and we expect to see it circulating more widely over the winter months with the numbers of people getting ill increasing.
“The booster is being offered to those at higher risk of severe illness and by taking up the booster vaccine this autumn, you will increase your protection ahead of winter, when respiratory viruses are typically at their peak.”
