Over-40s to be offered Covid vaccine booster
ISLANDERS over 40 are now eligible to have a Covid-19 booster vaccination.
The move was announced yesterday, in line with the change in Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation guidance.
A States spokeswoman said that those aged 40 to 49 could now get a booster, while 16- and 17-year-olds can now have a second dose.
‘The Bailiwick vaccination programme is working with the clinical teams to ensure those islanders who are in the groups announced this morning are identified and receive their second dose or booster dose accordingly,’ she said.
‘In the meantime, we would like to remind islanders that they should not attend the Community Vaccination Centre if they are unwell and, if they have recently been diagnosed with Covid-19, they should wait 28 days from the date of their positive diagnosis before they book an appointment.’
The booster programme for older islanders has been going well, with 40% of over 50s having already had a dose.
Boosters will be an mRNA vaccine – so either Moderna or Pfizer – and will only be given six months after a second vaccine dose was given.
The UK Health Security Agency data on booster vaccine effectiveness in the UK showed that people who took up the offer of a booster vaccine increased their protection against symptomatic Covid-19 infection to more than 90%. Protection against more severe disease is expected to be even higher.
Following two doses of the vaccine – as yet – there is no robust evidence of a decline in protection against severe Covid-19 in those aged under 40.
The JCVI is reviewing all available data to develop further advice in due course.
Until this week 16- and 17-year-olds were allowed only a single vaccine dose. Take up locally has been 80%. The latest guidance means they can now have a second dose, 12 or more weeks after their first.
A second vaccine dose increases the level of protection and extends the duration of protection.
In reports originating from outside the UK, extremely rare adverse reactions, such as myocarditis [inflammation of the heart], have been reported more frequently after the second vaccine dose compared to the first.
However, in countries such as Canada and the UK, which have a longer interval between the first and second doses, rates following the second vaccine dose are closer to the reporting rate after the first dose.
The latest available data indicates that myocarditis following vaccination usually resolves within a short time, most cases respond well to treatment and where information is available, no major complications have been identified in the medium term.
