Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether he has requested guidance from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation on the potential merits of an autumn booster covid-19 vaccine programme for the general population.

The Government continues to be guided by the advice of the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on COVID-19 vaccinations.

On 15 July 2022, the Government accepted the JCVI’s advice to offer an autumn booster vaccination to increase immunity in those at higher risk from COVID-19 and protect against severe illness, hospitalisation and death in winter 2022/23. The booster dose will be offered to residents and staff in a care home for older adults; all adults aged 50 years old and over; those aged five to 49 years old in a clinical risk group or who are household contacts of someone with immunosuppression; frontline health and social care workers; and carers aged 16 years old and over.