Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the implications of the take-up of a third or booster dose of the COVID-19 vaccine lagging behind the take-up of first and second doses.

No specific assessment has been made.

While vaccine effectiveness is known to wane over time, protection against the most severe disease is maintained for a longer period of time. Several studies conducted in the United Kingdom indicate that two doses of vaccine are between 65% to 95% effective at preventing symptomatic disease from the Delta variant, with higher levels of protection against severe disease including hospitalisation and death. There is some evidence of waning of protection against infection and symptomatic disease over time, although protection against severe disease remains high in most groups at least five months following the second dose.

By the week ending 22 May 2022, vaccine uptake with three doses was greater than 90% those aged 70 years old and over and 51.7% in all age groups.