The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised the Government that another booster COVID vaccination should be offered this spring to the over-75s, care home residents, and immunosuppressed people.
The spring vaccine programme is expected to run from April to June. The vaccine will be offered to people in these groups around six months after their previous dose.
This rollout of booster jabs will include the Pfizer, Moderna, and Sanofi/GSK vaccines. The Novavax jab will also be available for use only when alternatives have not been proven clinically suitable. Children under the age of twelve will be offered a children’s formulation of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. Which vaccine people get will depend on the local supply.
The JCVI stated that vaccination remains the most effective way to protect yourself from the virus and that a booster programme for vulnerable groups will help to top up immunity and provide protection from more grave symptoms of COVID.
Another round of booster vaccines is being considered for autumn, similar to last autumn’s offer to vaccinate all over-50s. This extra vaccine in the spring will help provide immunity over the summer months and into the autumn for the most vulnerable groups.
COVID-19 is still circulating within the community, and although the exact numbers are difficult to quantify due to a reduction in testing, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reports the following for the week ending February 28:
The estimated percentage of people living in private households (those not in care homes or other communal establishments) testing positive for COVID-19 was:
2.38% in England (1 in 40).
2.14% in Wales (1 in 45).
1.35% in Northern Ireland (1 in 75).
2.44% in Scotland (1 in 40).
“COVID-19 is still circulating widely,” said Dr Mary Ramsay, head of immunisation at the UK Health Security Agency, citing an increase in the number of older people hospitalised.
He warned that people at the highest risk of severe illness must not become complacent, urging them to everyone eligible to come forward once the booster programme starts.
Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) announced it found an increased risk of rare anaphylaxis in patients who had taken medicines containing the cough suppressant pholcodine and later received neuromuscular blocking agents (NMBAs) used in general anaesthesia.
Twenty brands of pholcodine were withdrawn from sale in pharmacies as a precaution amid concerns they can trigger sudden, life-threatening allergic reactions in people who go on to have a general anaesthetic before surgery up to a year later.
According to government alerts, available data shows that pholcodine use, especially in the 12 months preceding general anaesthesia with NMBAs, is a risk factor for developing an anaphylactic reaction to NMBAs.
The alert continued: “NMBAs are used to relax the muscles during general anaesthesia for some surgical procedures. Based on advice from the independent advisory body, the Commission on Human Medicines (CHM), pholcodine-containing medicines are being withdrawn from the UK market as a precaution.”
Health experts say there is a rare chance that some people could experience an allergic reaction linked to pholcodine.
People are being urged to check the ingredients list on any cough tablets or syrups they have at home to see if pholcodine is listed. They should go to a pharmacy for alternative medicine.
(Photo credit:WikiCommons)
Rachel Kayani
