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 viability of a covid-19 booster jab for vulnerable groups who were vaccinated earlier in 2021 ahead of winter 2021-22.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation’s (JCVI) interim advice is that COVID-19 booster vaccines should first be offered to the most vulnerable. The JCVI advises a two staged approach, with individuals in stage one offered a COVID-19 booster and flu vaccine, as soon as possible from September. Individuals in stage two would be offered a booster vaccine as soon as practicable after stage one, with equal emphasis on deployment of the flu vaccine where eligible.

Final decisions on the timing, scope and eligibility will be confirmed once the JCVI has provided their final advice.