As it continues to struggle with the endemic coronavirus strains circulating in the public, the United Kingdom is distributing its seventh and eighth doses of Covid.
But unlike the United States, which continues to push Covid shots for the entire population like an annual flu vaccine, the U.K. is not recommending them for healthy under-50s.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI) recently issued a warning that, should a new variant with “clinically substantial biological changes” develop in the future, an emergency vaccine reaction may be necessary. The committee has determined that none of the dominating strains—Kraken and Orthrus—justifies such an emergency rollout at this time.
The JCVI recommended that patients “at increased risk of severe Covid” be specifically provided the autumn 2023 Covid booster campaign, the seventh in the current series of Covid shots. The eighth shot in the sequence would be the winter boosts.
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The Covid shots were provided to those over 50, residents and employees at nursing homes, and frontline healthcare workers during the U.K.’s most recent autumn booster campaign.
Additionally, those aged five to 49 who fell into a clinical risk category, such as those who were immunosuppressed or lived with an immunosuppressed person, were given the booster doses (despite the jabs failing to prevent infection and transmission).
Beginning on February 12th, the first booster campaign will be restricted to those above the age of 50.
As “the movement proceeds away from a pandemic emergency response towards pandemic recovery,” the JCVI’s recommendations are made.
However, the Food and Drug Administration is attempting to make Covid injections a standard annual procedure for the American population, especially for young people in good health.
The FDA stated in a briefing document released on Monday that as the virus changes, the vaccinations will likely require an annual update. The Covid strain would be chosen by the FDA for the vaccine in the spring, and “boosters” would be released for a vaccination campaign in the fall.
According to the suggested vaccine regimen, elderly folks and those with impaired immune systems may require two doses while the majority of people would just require one shot to ostensibly restore protection against the virus. Young children who have previously only received one shot would likewise receive two doses despite having a very low statistical risk from Covid and regardless of any existing antibodies that provide natural immunity.
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Source: Becker News Rephrased By: InfoArmed