The UK’s Health Security Agency said the UK will give people over 50 years of age another booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in the fall. The measure is aimed at increasing protection against respiratory viruses in the winter, in a plan that also includes giving free flu vaccinations.
Initially, specialists at the Public Health Agency only recommended this booster dose for people over 65 years of age, but the wave of cases caused by the Ómicron BA.4 and BA.5 sub variants — more contagious — made the procedures expand.
SARS-CoV-2 infections grew by 30% last week, with around 3.5 million Britons infected, leading to a wave of cases adding to hospital pressure and delaying the ambulance service.
Under the recommendations, pregnant women, health care professionals and social workers may also be eligible for the Covid-19 booster vaccine.
Similarly, vaccination is extended to persons aged 5 to 49 years who belong to risk groups, who work in homes or who live with immunosuppressed persons.
For influenza, free vaccination was extended to the age group 50-64 and adolescents aged 11-14, which was added to the groups initially expected for the elderly over 64 and children in preschool and primary school. . of basic education.
Said Mary Ramsay, responsible for vaccination at UKHSA services.
The latest data from Johns Hopkins University, which continues to collect numbers, points to more than 6.3 million deaths and more than 561.4 million cases worldwide.
(Lusa news agency)
