Third Covid jab 'to be offered to over 50s in Autumn'

5 May 2021, 07:59

By Polly Foreman

All over 50s will reportedly be offered a third booster jab before winter later this year.

A third Covid jab will be offered to the over 50s this autumn in a bid to eradicate the threat from the disease by Christmas, it has been reported.

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According to The Times, the third vaccine will be given alongside the annual flu jab, and it will either be a new vaccine adapted to fight variants, or a third dose of an existing vaccine.

A senior government minister told the publication: "We will have a lot to say about the booster programme soon.

"It’s looking really positive so far.

"We think that the level of protection in the population to any variant will be so high that by Christmas, Covid-19 should have just faded away into the background like any other illness in circulation.

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"So much that we don’t think there will be any need to give a booster shot to young people because transmission will have got so low".

NHS England data recently showed that the vaccine uptake in people over 50 was at 95 per cent, with Health Secretary Matt Hancock tweeting that he was 'delighted' by the news.

He added that the government are on track to offer all adults the vaccine by the end of July.

More than 34.6 million people in the UK have been given a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, according to government statistics.

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