The government has announced that it agrees with the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) autumn booster programme.
All people aged 50 and over will be eligible for autumn COVID booster and the flu vaccine, government has announced.
Who will be offered an autumn COVID-19 booster first?
The programme allows the following groups to be offered a COVID-19 booster vaccine:
- Residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults
- Frontline health and social care workers
- All adults aged 50 years and over
- Persons aged 5 to 49 years in a clinical risk group, as set out in the Green Book, chapter 14a, tables 3 and 4
- Persons aged 5 to 49 years who are household contacts of people with immunosuppression
- Persons aged 16 to 49 years who are carers, as set out in the Green Book, chapter 14a, table 3
Vaccinations should be completed by early December 2022.
Government announces flu vaccine eligibility
In addition, more people will be eligible for a free flu vaccine this year in England only. Those already eligible include:
- Pregnant women
- Those aged 65 years and over
- Those in long-stay residential care homes
- Carers
- Close contacts of immunocompromised individuals
- Frontline staff employed by the following types of social care providers without employer led occupational health schemes:
- A registered residential care or nursing home
- Registered domiciliary care provider
- Direct payment (personal budgets) or personal health budgets, such as personal assistants
The additional groups set to be offered the free flu vaccine in England will be:
- All adults aged 50 to 64 years
- Secondary school children in years 7, 8 and 9, who will be offered the vaccine in order of school year (starting with the youngest first)
The NHS will announce when and how eligible groups will be able to book an appointment for their COVID-19 autumn booster, and when people aged 50 to 64 years old who are not in a clinical risk group will be able to get their free flu jab.
Further Information