BOOSTER jabs for Covid-19 are currently being rolled to the most vulnerable in order to keep them safe through the winter months.
Coronavirus infections are still rising and the immunity of those who were jabbed at the start of the vaccine rollout has now started to wane.
The Sun has today launched the Give Britain a Booster campaign to get Brits jabbed – so here's everything you need to know about the extra shot.
Figures reveal 5.5million of the 7.9million eligible have so far been invited for a booster jab.
Four million have already had it — leaving 1.5million who have not yet had the third shot.
Another 1.9 million people will be asked to head to their local GP or vaccination centre this week.
Around 500,000 who live or work in social care will also be jabbed there.
All over-50s, people with serious health conditions and health and care workers already double-jabbed are being offered the booster six months after their second dose.
By the end of the rollout, medics hope to have given boosters to more than 30million.
So far in the UK 49.4 million people have received a first dose of the vaccine, with 45.4 million having had two jabs.
If you're confused about the booster jab – here's everything you need to know…
Why should I get the booster?
Pharmacy2U’s superintendent pharmacist Phil Day said that booster jabs are essential to protect the nation.
He explained that to maintain a high level of protection through the colder months and the flu season, a booster jab is recommended and is currently being offered to those at the greatest risk of serious problems from Covid-19.
"A booster vaccine will prolong your protection and reduce the chance of hospitalisation", Phil said.
How long do I need to wait?
Phil said: "You should have the booster no earlier than 6 months after you received your second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine".
At the start of the booster roll out, those eligible would be contacted directly by the NHS.
The government is now urging everyone who is eligible to come foward.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: "This truly is a national effort. So please come forward as soon as possible to get your jabs — to protect yourselves, your loved ones, and the extraordinary progress we’ve made together.”
Millions of adults will be urged to come forward the moment they are eligible in an official ad campaign to be launched this week.
THE SUN SAYS
TODAY The Sun urges all readers to put rocket-boosters under the stuttering jabs rollout. Nothing is more vital to save lives and keep our freedoms this winter.
If you’re invited to get YOUR booster shot, don’t hesitate — especially if you are one of the 1.5million people who has been asked, but is yet to come forward.
Britain’s vaccine programme was a world-leading triumph, thanks in no small part to Sun readers who flocked to have theirs — and joined our Jabs Army to help others do the same.
The uptake was phenomenal. But we must all remember this: the drugs don’t CURE this hideous disease.
Some childhood inoculations last for life. Sadly that’s not so with a virus as unstable as Covid.
Yes, your Pfizer or AstraZeneca jabs provide powerful protection against infection, severe illness and death. But it is clear that, a few months on, the effect is starting to wane.
That makes regular boosters crucial, especially for over-50s.
And the booster rollout, unlike the astonishing pace with which the first two jabs were delivered, is too slow.
We all wish it were otherwise, but yesterday’s grim figures show the pandemic is not over.
Some 223 Covid deaths were reported, the highest in seven months.
Another 43,738 people were infected.
The vaccines have kept hospitalisations and deaths far lower than during the second wave last winter. But both are rising.
And a booster shot won’t just maximise your immunity, potentially saving your life and maybe your loved ones.
It will give Britain our best chance of swerving further crippling restrictions.
We have all loved near-normality returning this summer.
The prospect of social distancing, compulsory masks, closures and even lockdowns — just in time for Christmas — is bleak indeed.
The vaccination programme for teenagers has been plagued with problems.
With unvaccinated 12 to 15-year-olds comprising a large percentage of new cases, this must be urgently fixed.
Let’s keep Britain safe — and free.
What vaccine will I get?
Phil explained: "The NHS advises that the Pfizer vaccine should be given for the booster dose, regardless of which vaccine type you received for your first and second doses; clinical trials have shown this is well tolerated and provides a strong booster response.
"Alternatively, a half-dose of the Moderna vaccine may be given; or if you’re unable to receive either of these vaccines, for example due to allergies, the AstraZeneca vaccine may be given to those who received it previously."
Who can get the booster?
The most vulnerable in society are being offered their booster jabs first – and this is a similar order to the original rollout in December 2020.
Here's the list:
- all adults aged 50 years or over
- frontline health and social care workers
- those living in residential care homes for older adults
- all those aged 16 to 49 years with underlying health conditions that put them at higher risk of severe COVID-19, and adult carers
- adult household contacts of immunosuppressed people
Is a booster the same as a third dose?
The advice around booster jabs can be a little bit confusing.
Information given by the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is different from what was previously said about the most vulnerable getting a third dose.
The JCVI said: "JCVI will review at a later date whether such persons require a further booster dose following completion of their 3-dose primary vaccine course."
Myeloma UK said that while there is no difference in the ingredients of the vaccine and booster, and therefore no medical risk to receiving a booster instead of a third dose, it is key for medical staff to administer them in the correct order and make sure immunocompromised patients get as much protection from the virus as possible.
On September 1, the JCVI announced that people with severely weakened immune systems at the time of their first and/or second vaccination would receive a third dose of a Covid-19 vaccine as part of the standard vaccination schedule.
This third dose, the JCVI said, should be followed by a booster around six months later. Boosters are given to help maintain and extend the length of protection received from the initial vaccination schedule.
Can I still catch Covid if I get a booster?
No vaccine is 100 per cent effective and you can still catch Covid if you get a booster.
But vaccines have been proven to lower your chances of catching the virus, passing it on and becoming severely ill.
Phil added: "Like all medicines, no vaccine is completely effective, and some people may still catch Covid-19 and display symptoms despite having a vaccination, but they will be less severe in the majority of cases.”
Can I get a flu jab and booster at the same time?
Yes you can, Professor Tim Spector, lead on the ZOE Symptom Study app and of King's College London recently revealed he had both jabs in the same sitting.
He said he experienced a slight headache that went away within a few hours.
Phil added: "Clinical trials have shown that there is no reduction in immune response to either vaccine when they are given at the same time, and it is safe to administer both injections together; they will usually be given in different arms."
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