Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make an assessment of the potential merits of providing a fourth dose of a Covid-19 vaccine to all people over the age of 12.

The Government continues to be guided by the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) on COVID-19 vaccinations. On 15 July 2022, the Government accepted the advice of the JCVI to offer an autumn COVID-19 booster dose to those at higher risk from severe COVID-19 in winter 2022/23. Therefore, the autumn COVID-19 booster dose will be offered to residents and staff in care homes 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.