Englands's National Health Service will not be offering flu or Covid shots to the general population under 65 in next winter's vaccination campaign.
Flu and Covid booster jabs to be scrapped for under 65s | The Telegraph | Michael Searles:
August 7, 2023 - "NHS flu jabs and Covid boosters will be axed for adults under 65 this winter as the health service attempts to 'go back to normal\, The Telegraph can reveal. The Government’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation is expected to set out plans on Tuesday which will mean 12 million people aged 50 to 64 are no longer eligible for free vaccines.
"The rollout is also expected to start later than normal for those who are given jabs, with the drive not set to begin until October. The vaccination drive usually starts in early September in an attempt to ensure sufficient protection against an early flu season. Health officials said the later start would ensure that the vulnerable are protected in the depths of winter when viruses are most likely to spread....
"Before the pandemic flu jabs were offered to healthy adults over the age of 65, as well as to children and younger adults with health conditions. During the pandemic the rollout of flu jabs was extended to cover those aged 50 to 64 in line with those eligible for Covid boosters....
"Uptake of both flu and Covid jabs among those aged between 50 and 64 fell sharply last winter. Just 40.6 per cent of those aged between 50 and 65 in England came forward for a flu vaccination in 2022-23, down from 45.7 per cent the year before. Meanwhile, six million people, or 51.7 per cent, from the same age range came forward for a Covid booster last winter, down from 77.6 per cent the previous year.
"Anyone under 65 in a clinical risk group as well as healthcare workers and carers will still also be eligible for flu and Covid jabs. Children aged between two and 17 will also be eligible for flu nasal sprays, while some who are clinically at risk will be eligible for Covid jabs. A senior health source said the decision to limit Covid jabs to the over 65s would put it in line with recommendations on flu, allowing for 'easier co-administration of both jabs at the same appointment'."
Read more: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/08/07/flu-jabs-covid-boosters-scrapped-under-65s-nhs-winter/
England to deny Covid and flu jabs to under-65s despite fears for NHS this winter | The Guardian | Andrew Gregory:
August 8, 2023 - "The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which advises the UK government, said on Tuesday its plan for Covid was to offer jabs only to those at 'high risk of serious disease'.... Covid boosters will be offered to residents in care homes for older adults, those aged six months to 64 in clinical risk groups, frontline health and social care workers, people aged 12 to 64 who are carers or household contacts of people with immunosuppression, and all adults aged 65 and over.
"The Department of Health and Social Care said it had accepted the advice for England. The government said in May that people in England under 65 would not be offered flu jabs this winter. It means about 12 million people aged 50 to 64 are no longer eligible for either free flu or Covid-19 vaccines. Last year everyone over 50 was offered both. The Covid jab is not available privately in the UK, so those ineligible this year will be unable to buy the jab themselves....
"Last winter was one of the most challenging on record for the NHS in England. It is expected to face a surge in demand in the coming months with officials anticipating a large number of people needing help for respiratory illnesses, including flu and Covid."
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