A COVID-19 booster vaccine will be offered to those at highest risk of the virus from September, the health secretary has said.
Following advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on the autumn/winter booster programme a number of vulnerable groups will be offered an additional dose in a community clinic.
Experts hope that this will keep more people out of hospital this winter by protecting those at higher risk of severe illness.
It comes as COVID-19 infections in the UK jumped by nearly 800,000 in a week - with the virus currently most prevalent in Scotland.
The groups who meet the requirements for a booster are:
- residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults
- frontline health and social care workers
- all adults aged 50 years and over
- those aged 5 to 49 years in a clinical risk group, including pregnant women
- those aged 5 to 49 years who are household contacts of people with immunosuppression
- carers aged 16-49 years
It’s understood that where possible, boosters will be given at the same time as flu vaccinations to those who are eligible.
The announcement is a change from previous guidance from the JCVI which recommended that those older than 65 be offered the vaccinations.
It comes after the committee considered the spread of the BA.4 and BA.5 variants, as well as the benefits of combining the booster rollout with the flu vaccine rollout.
Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “The vaccination programme in Scotland continues to be a huge success and this is testament to the efforts of everyone involved in its delivery and all those who took up their appointment offers.
“Vaccination has been our most effective tool against coronavirus. However, the degree of protection offered wanes over time.
“We know that those in high-priority groups are at higher risk of serious illness from COVID-19, and I therefore welcome this latest advice from the JCVI and can confirm that boosters will be offered to all those in eligible groups.
“The additional booster dose will improve your level of protection significantly and is the best way to protect yourself, your family and of course the NHS when we head into the busy winter months.
“I continue to encourage everyone to receive the doses they are eligible for as and when they become available.”
Professor Anthony Harnden, deputy chairman of the JCVI, said: “We have provided our final recommendations for the autumn programme to ensure the NHS and wider health system has time to plan a vaccine rollout well ahead of the winter season.
“The Covid-19 boosters are highly effective at increasing immunity and, by offering a further dose to those at higher risk of severe illness this autumn, we hope to significantly reduce the risk of hospitalisations and deaths over the winter.”
