Health Secretary Matt Hancock says that plans for a “booster” Covid vaccine roll-out in the autumn will be set out in the coming weeks. BBC News has the story.
The Health Secretary said ministers were waiting for results from trials of different combinations of vaccines.
It comes after doctors and NHS trusts said planning for a booster rollout must start now as it will involve bigger challenges.
They said many questions needed answering, including how long immunity from the original Covid jab lasts.
The issue of whether children will be vaccinated also still remains, health leaders said.
“We are currently trialling which combinations of jabs are the most effective,” Mr Hancock told BBC Breakfast.
“In the next few weeks, when we get the clinical data through on what’s the most effective combinations to have… then we’ll set out all the details for the booster programme for the autumn.”
Among the ongoing trials is the U.K.’s Cov-Boost trial, which is testing different combinations of third doses across England.
A senior Government source said the U.K. would also benefit from new vaccines from Novavax and Valneva, which are awaiting approval from the U.K.’s medicines regulator.
So far, nearly 60% of U.K. adults have had two jabs of the vaccine, meaning they are fully vaccinated, and more than four in five adults have had their first dose.
People have been rushing to get their vaccines in recent days, with more than one million jabs booked on Friday and Saturday in England after vaccinations opened to all over-18s.
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