Care home residents and staff advised to take up autumn Covid booster

An additional Covid-19 booster vaccine will be offered to care home residents and staff this autumn, under draft guidance from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).

The committee states the primary objective of the 2022 autumn booster programme is to increase population immunity and protection against severe Covid disease, specifically hospital admissions and deaths, over the winter period.

Wei Shen Lim, chair of Covid-19 vaccination on the JCVI, said: “Last year’s autumn booster vaccination programme provided excellent protection against severe covid-19, including against the omicron variant.

“We have provided interim advice on an autumn booster programme for 2022 so that the NHS and care homes are able to start the necessary operational planning, to enable high levels of protection for more vulnerable individuals and frontline healthcare staff over next winter.”

'You don't want to wait until virus circulation increases'

The JCVI has recommended that in autumn 2022, a further Covid vaccine should be offered to residents and staff of care homes for older adults, health and social care workers, all those 65 years of age or over, and adults aged 16-64 years who are in a clinical risk group.

Currently, a narrower group is being offered a spring booster: the over 75s, residents in care homes for older adults, and people aged 12 or over who are immunosuppressed.

However, most people in the UK under the age of 65 will be excluded from the autumn booster programme if the interim advice, which has been issued for “purposes of operational planning,” remains in place.

The JCVI said considerable uncertainty remained over the likelihood, timing, and severity of any potential future wave of Covid in the UK in the year ahead.

Despite this uncertainty, winter will remain the season when the threat from Covid is greatest for individuals and for healthcare workers.

Jonathan Ball, professor of molecular virology at the University of Nottingham said: “We know immunity to Covid-19 following vaccination or indeed infection contracts over time, so giving those individuals most at risk from developing severe Covid-19 a boost just before virus circulation is likely to pick up during autumn and winter months seems sensible.

“The exact timing will be important, as you don't want to wait until virus circulation has already started to increase, although hopefully, those most at risk have already had their spring booster, which will be standing them in good stead.”

The JCVI said it will continue to review the vaccination programme and the epidemiological situation, particularly in relation to the timing and value of doses for less vulnerable older adults and those in clinical risk groups, ahead of autumn 2022.

Final plans, including further detail on the definitions of clinical risk groups, will be published in due course.