The NHS is already preparing for an autumn booster rollout for people over 50 – with the potential to use a vaccine better targeted against Covid variants to radically reduce transmission through next winter.
As a fourth dose of the vaccine was made available to people over 75 and clinically vulnerable on Monday, covid cases remain high in the UK, although there are early signs that the peak of the last wave could be reached.
There were an average of 75,000 cases for the three days between Saturday and Monday, which is slightly lower than the previous three days of around 90,000 per day. UK hospital admissions have exceeded 2,000 for the first time since 18 January, although the majority of those are being treated for other reasons.
The large caseload – with more than 600,000 tests positive in the last seven days – underscores how existing vaccines have failed to combat the transmission of Omicron and its sub-variant BA.2, even if the third shot booster drastically reduces the likelihood has that people need. Hospital treatment.
Although the government insists there will be no change in the strategy of ‘Living with Covid’ in England, with self-isolation rules already relaxed and mass testing removed by next week, there is now pressure on pharmaceutical companies to use the next generation of Covid vaccines. produce. .
It is hoped that these new variants will take care of and limit the ability of the virus to circulate.
Pfizer and Moderna are at the center of clinical trials of a vaccine specifically targeting the Omicron variant.
Pfizer declined to comment on when this would be available for use in the general population, but it is hoped it will be ready before the fall.
The government has secured 114 million doses for 2022 and 2023 from Pfizer and Moderna, and deals that include access to new vaccines that could combat Omicron or other new variants.
By September, another new variant of worries – whether it’s called Pi or Rho – could make an impact on cases around the world, experts say.
While existing vaccines may still hold up against a serious illness of this hypothetical new variant, scientists are working on a “multivalent” jab capable of attacking any strain of covid, including a trial at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Maryland.
By 4pm on Monday, more than 75,000 people had booked their fourth jab.
A government spokesman said: “The risks of Covid-19 have been reduced due to the success of the vaccination program, with the latest analysis by the UK Health Security Agency estimating booster vaccines preventing over 157,000 people being admitted to hospital with since mid-December 2021.
“While the increase in cases we are currently seeing is expected as we open up the country, rates of serious illness remain low, and we continue to monitor the virus through the Office for National Statistics Survey and Genome Sequencing .
“The government has also secured future supply contracts that include access to modified vaccines when needed to combat Omicron and future variants of concerns to prepare for any eventuality.”
Add Comment