The JCVI has approved a new Covid vaccine for the booster jab this autumn.
As summer will soon come to an end, health experts are preparing for winter as Covid-19 is expected circulate.
Booster vaccines are set to be given out to eligible groups before winter as that's when viruses are more likely to thrive.
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This comes after a new vaccines has been manufactures in the wake of the Omicron strains. The new duel variant vaccine, known as a “bivalent”, has been developed by Moderna to tackle the original Covid variant and the Omicron strains. It has been approved by MHRA.
In a new publication, The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has stated a list of vaccines advised for booster shots and has emphasised that getting a jab in good time before the winter season is more important for those eligible than the type of vaccine that is received.
Those who are are at higher risk of severe illness of Covid-19 will be offered a booster vaccine in the autumn with more details from the UK Government to follow at a later date.
The vaccines advised for use in the autumn booster programme are:
For adults aged 18 years and above:
- Moderna mRNA (Spikevax) bivalent Omicron BA.1/Original ‘wild-type’ vaccine
- Moderna mRNA (Spikevax) Original ‘wild-type’ vaccine
- Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA (Comirnaty) Original ‘wild-type’ vaccine
- in exceptional circumstances, the Novavax Matrix-M adjuvanted wild-type vaccine (Nuvaxovid) may be used when no alternative clinically suitable UK-approved COVID-19 vaccine is available
For people aged 12 to 17 years:
- Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA (Comirnaty) Original ‘wild-type’ vaccine
For people aged five to 11 years:
- Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA (Comirnaty) Original ‘wild-type’ vaccine paediatric formulation
Professor Wei Shen Lim, Chair of Covid-19 immunisation on the JCVI, said: "All of the available booster vaccines offer very good protection against severe illness from Covid-19. As more vaccines continue to be developed and approved, the JCVI will consider the benefits of including them in the UK programme.
"It is important that everyone who is eligible takes up a booster this autumn, whichever vaccine is on offer. This will increase your protection against being severely ill from Covid-19 as we move into winter."
Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation at UKHSA, said: "Although cases of COVID-19 are relatively low at present, we are expecting to see the virus circulating more widely during the winter months.
"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 the winter months, when respiratory viruses are typically at their peak."
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