Covid-19: Update Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department of Health and Social Care
Baroness Jenkin of Kennington
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(3 years ago)
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Baroness Jenkin of Kennington (Con) [V]
What plans are being put in place for flu and Covid vaccine booster shots for the winter?
Lord Bethell (Con)
I am extremely grateful for that perceptive question. We are looking, at this very moment, at our arrangements for the autumn. For the flu vaccine, we hope to double down on our hugely successful efforts from last autumn. We hope to build on the experience of the Covid vaccine to ensure that a much wider range of people have the vaccine, so that we can deal with those who might head towards severe illness, and to stop transmission. When it comes to the Covid vaccine, we are beginning to try to understand whether a booster shot will or will not be necessary to address the threat of VOCs. As I said earlier, we are still at a stage where we do not have the full science at our disposal but, if necessary, we will roll out a vaccine booster programme in the autumn.