In August 2022 the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) published advice on the boosters that will be used for each group in autumn. The JCVI emphasised that every option on the list provides protection against “severe illness” from Covid-19. Furthermore, the Committee highlighted the need to get a booster before winter.
For adults 18+:
- Moderna mRNA (Spikevax) bivalent Omicron BA.1/Original ‘wild-type’ vaccine
- Moderna mRNA (Spikevax) Original ‘wild-type’ vaccine
- Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA (Comirnaty) Original ‘wild-type’ vaccine
- Novavax Matrix-M adjuvanted wild-type vaccine (Nuvaxovid) “may be used when no alternative clinically suitable UK-approved COVID-19 vaccine is available”
For young people 12-17:
- Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA (Comirnaty) Original ‘wild-type’ vaccine
For children 5-11:
- Pfizer-BioNTech mRNA (Comirnaty) Original ‘wild-type’ vaccine paediatric formulation
Professor Wei Shen Lim, Chair of Covid-19 immunisation for the JCVI, stated that “all of the available booster vaccines offer very good protection against severe illness from Covid-19″.
“It is important that everyone who is eligible takes up a booster this autumn, whichever vaccine is on offer.”
Dr Mary Ramsay, Head of Immunisation at UKHSA, suggested that although cases were “relatively low at present” she expected to see an increase in circulation “during the winter months”.
To hear from speakers from Moderna, Pfizer, and Novavax at the World Vaccine Congress in Barcelona 2022 click here to get your tickets.
