Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of advising that immunocompromised people receive a third dose of a covid-19 vaccine instead of the proposed booster vaccines planned for autumn 2021.

Any third dose of a COVID-19 vaccine would be administered as part of a booster vaccination programme. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) published interim advice on a potential COVID-19 booster vaccination programme on 30 June which is available at the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/jcvi-interim-advice-on-a-potential-coronavirus-covid-19-booster-vaccine-programme-for-winter-2021-to-2022/jcvi-interim-advice-potential-covid-19-booster-vaccine-programme-winter-2021-to-2022

The JCVI advises a two staged approach, with individuals in stage one offered a booster and flu vaccine, as soon as possible from September. and Individuals in stage two should be offered a booster vaccine as soon as practicable after stage one, with equal emphasis on deployment of the flu vaccine where eligible. Adults aged 16 years old and over who are immunosuppressed would be offered a booster vaccine dose in stage one. Final decisions on the timing, scope and cohort eligibility of any COVID-19 vaccine booster programme and the vaccines that will be deployed, will be confirmed once the JCVI has provided their final advice.