London: Thanasis Gavos
The extension of the program to administer the third, booster dose of the coronavirus vaccine to residents aged 40 and over was announced today Monday in the United Kingdom.
All citizens of these age groups should have the opportunity to take the third dose six months after the second.
Until today, the supplementary dose was entitled to citizens aged 50 and over, as well as clinically vulnerable people of all ages.
The decision follows a recommendation of the Joint Vaccination and Immunization Committee (JCVI) and the results of the first study based on real data from the UK Health Insurance Service which show that two weeks after receiving the booster dose protection against accidental infection 50 years and older is at least 93.1% for those who have taken a dose of AstraZeneca and 94% for those who have had the Pfizer vaccine.
JCVI recommends that a third dose of Pfizer vaccine be given or half a dose of the Moderna vaccine, regardless of the vaccine given for the first two doses.
The commission also said that for those under the age of 40, “there is no strong evidence of a reduction in COVID-19 protection against serious illness” over time after the second dose.
So far, 12.6 million third doses of the vaccine have been administered, to almost 22% of citizens over the age of 12. The second installment has been made by 46 million citizens over the age of 12, ie exactly 80% of them.
The JCVI Committee also recommended that the second dose of the vaccine be given to adolescents aged 16 and 17 years. This should be offered 12 weeks after the first dose. In this case the Pfizer vaccine will be given.
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