An autumn campaign of booster vaccines for Covid-19 will help avoid a deadly fourth wave over winter and stave off the prospect of a further lockdown, ministers believe.
Work is under way to decide who should get a third boost of the jab, and which version they should be given, with a decision due to be announced in the coming weeks. The NHS has already been told to ensure it is ready to administer millions more vaccines over the autumn.
The scientist leading research into the programme says he will be able to publish his findings on how best to boost immunity so that vulnerable groups gain the maximum protection by the end of August. This will then inform the details of the campaign – such as whether to take a “mix and match” approach with people who had AstraZeneca for their first two doses getting Pfizer for their third, and vice versa.
The Government’s scientific advisers have warned that fresh restrictions to combat Covid-19 over the winter could become necessary. Boris Johnson said on Monday: “I think what the scientists are saying is that things like flu will come back this winter, we may have a rough winter for all sorts of reasons, and obviously there are big pressures on the NHS.
“All the more reason to reduce the number of Covid cases now, give the NHS the breathing space it needs to get on with dealing with all those other pressures, and we are certainly going to be putting in the investment to make sure that they can.”
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said he would be able to announce details of the autumn booster programme in the “next few weeks” but insisted officials were already working on the “logistics” of how to deliver third doses, which are likely to be targeted at the most vulnerable parts of the population.
A study into the effects of mixing different vaccines in order to boost immunity will be ready for publication towards the end of summer, said lead investigator Saul Faust. The University of Southampton professor told the BBC: “The results of the trial, both in terms of the side effects and the blood test data which shows immunology and how the vaccines are working against all the current circulating variants, those data will be available to JCVI by the end of August.”
As well as ensuring that immunity does not wane to such an extent that Covid-19 can take hold again, scientists are considering the possibility of administering updated vaccines which are specifically targeted against dangerous new variants of coronavirus. It is likely that third doses will be given at the same time as flu vaccines over the autumn and winter.