Vulnerable members of the public will be offered Covid-19 and flu vaccines earlier than planned as concerns over a new variant grow in the U.K.
People in England at a higher clinical risk from Covid-19 will be invited for shots from mid-September — a month earlier than originally planned.
This includes people over 65 years old, those with compromised immune systems, those who live with people with weakened immunity and patient-facing health and social care staff.
Government officials say the country is bringing the shots forward as a “precautionary measure” against an emerging variant called BA.2.86.
The variant, nicknamed “Pirola” has been spotted in several countries including the U.S. and the U.K., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
BA.2.86 has a relatively high number of mutations and scientists think it may be better at escaping existing immunity acquired from previous shots and infections.
But it is not currently designated as a “variant of concern”, and it’s thought existing Covid-19 treatments will also work against the virus.
The U.K. wants to get ahead of the new variant and ensure vulnerable people have renewed protection against Covid-19 as it potentially spreads. The government wants as many vulnerable people as possible vaccinated by October 31, according to the BBC.
The vaccine will be offered to those at greater risk for free. Many of those eligible for this round of Covid-19 shots will be eligible for free flu shots as well.
U.K. health minister Maria Caulfield said it was “absolutely vital” the most vulnerable people strengthened their immunity this winter “to protect themselves and reduce pressure” on the country’s public health system, the National Health Service.
She said in a statement: “I encourage anyone invited for a vaccination — including those yet to have their first jab — to come forward as soon as possible.”
Jenny Harries, who heads up the country’s public health body, the U.K. Health Security Agency, added that the emergence of new Covid-19 variants was expected and encouraged people to get their shots when offered.
“There is limited information available at present on BA.2.86 so the potential impact of this particular variant is difficult to estimate,” she said.
“As with all emergent and circulating Covid-19 variants — both in the UK and internationally — we will continue to monitor BA.2.86 and to advise government and the public as we learn more.”
But pharmacists, who will actually be administering the shots, have criticised the sudden change of plans.
Royal Pharmaceutical Society Director Tase Oputu said in a statement that the short-notice change of start date has “created confusion for pharmacy teams trying to make plans, and for the public.”
The government, she noted, had previously pushed the start date of the country’s fall vaccine program to October to leave a shorter gap between innoculations and the peak in circulation of winter viruses.
“The government must plan ahead more decisively next year to avoid such uncertainty,” she said. “Pharmacy teams will now revert to their usual routine of beginning jabs in September.”
She added that pharmacies were an “essential element in the government’s vaccination plans,” and encouraged everyone eligible for flu and Covid-19 booster shotss to get their vaccines as soon as possible.
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