Booster jabs: what’s the plan for Winter?

Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, has said he is “confident” that a booster Covid vaccine scheme will begin in the UK next month – following in the footsteps of the US, France, Germany and Israel, which have already announced booster programmes to combat rising cases of the Delta variant, writes Olivia Gavoyannis.
 
But with inconclusive health data and concerns about the ethics of global vaccine distribution, major questions remain just weeks before the planned rollout – most notably: Who will get access to these booster shots? And when?
 
Some countries may have already confirmed their plans for a booster programme, but scientists are still in disagreement about the effectiveness of third doses on the general population.
 
Those advocating for booster shots point to evidence that the effectiveness of the Covid vaccine decreases over time. A University of Oxford study published this week found that protection against the Delta variant from the Pfizer vaccine drops from 85 to 75 per cent over three months, while protection from AstraZeneca drops from 68 to 61 per cent.
 
US officials said that, in accordance with the findings, American scientists are starting to see “evidence of reduced protection against mild and moderate disease.” They concluded that “a booster shot will be needed to maximize vaccine-induced protection and prolong its durability.”
 
But others argue that, while the effectiveness of the vaccines does seem to decline, they are still powerful enough to protect most people from serious disease – and have created a strong level of immunity within the general population.
 
The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), suggest that more than 93 per cent of adults in England now have Covid antibodies, either due to vaccination or previous infection.
 
And for those people who have been unable to develop antibodies because they are immunosuppressed, there is growing evidence to suggest that third doses could “rescue” their immune responses – prompting calls from campaigners to bring boosters forward for the most clinically vulnerable. 
 
Looking at the interim advice set out by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) in June, it is highly likely that the government will start next month’s booster programme with over 16s who are immunosuppressed, as well as care home residents, over-70s, and adults who were considered clinically extremely vulnerable.
 
But after triple jabbing the most vulnerable, the government will be under increasing pressure to pause the booster rollout and export more doses to those countries struggling with their vaccine rollouts.
 
According to the latest vaccine data, just one per cent of the population in some countries – such as Mali, Chad and Papua New Guinea – have received a single dose of the vaccine, while 87.3 per cent of the UK population have had a first dose.
 
The World Health Organization has called for a halt on booster shots until at least the end of September – with its health emergencies director, Mike Ryan, likening them to handing out extra life jackets to people who already have them, while leaving others to drown.
 
Boris Johnson has pledged to donate 100 million vaccines within the next year, as part of G7 leaders’ target to vaccinate the world and end the pandemic in 2022. But so far only nine million of the UK’s pledged doses have actually been sent abroad.
 
With further trial results on booster jabs expected soon, the government will have a tricky job balancing the scientific advice of the JCVI with calls to stem the growing vaccine gap between rich and poor nations. 


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Olivia Gavoyannis,
Reaction Reporter