How can anyone deny this not experimental ? How can anyone say to trust the science , when science does yet understand the effectiveness and long term outcomes. just read it over , Its all words like possibility , but it is perfectly safe , the study ,potential risks but nothing alarming etc. but unclear ! THE MAGIC SLING SHOT AT THE END OF THE ARTICLE ? POLITICAL PRESSURE !!! YEP ITS THE POLITICIANS FORCING THIS THROUGH AGAINST MEDICAL ADVICE. . IT HAS BEEN SINCE THE START !
the MHRA said the boosters should be given at least eight weeks after the second 'when the potential benefits outweigh any potential risks', but the JCVI will make a final decision on the dosing interval.Pfizer boosters can be given to anyone, even if they have been double-jabbed with AstraZeneca or Moderna, the agency said.
But a third dose of AstraZenca can only be administered to those who have already received that jab, according to the guidance.
cientists at Oxford University found in June that mixing and matching first and second doses can give more protection and said their research could have a 'major impact' on the booster campaign being considered in the UK.
Professor Danny Altmann, an immunologist at Imperial College London and a member of SAGE's immunology taskforce, said a mix-and-match approach for booster jabs will maximise the chance of a strong immune response.
In interim advice published in June, the JCVI said boosters should be given to over-16s who are immunosuppressed or clinically extremely vulnerable, those living in care homes for older adults, over-70s and frontline health staff.
A second stage of the rollout should target all over-50s, those aged 16 to 49 that are at-risk from Covid or the flu and adults who live with immunosuppressed people, the JCVI said.
However, the JCVI cautioned that its final advice 'may change substantially' and its members have since spoken out against third jabs for entire age groups.
Some 48.3million over-16s in the UK have received one dose (89 per cent) of AstraZeneca, Pfizer or Moderna, while 43.6million have received two doses (80.3 per cent)
The MHRA did not include Moderna in the booster approval plans today, because that jab is being used in the UK by relying on authorisation given by the EU medicines watchdog.
he jabs are very effective at preventing severe disease and death due to the coronavirus, but it is unclear how long the immune protection from the vaccines last.
by the vaccines – such as the Indian Delta strain and the South African Beta variant – may make the vaccines less effective.
The MHRA said it and the independent Commission on Human Medicines, which advises the Government, considered available safety and effectiveness data on booster doses.
Dr June Raine, the MHRA's chief executive said: 'We are committed to getting safe and effective Covid vaccines to the UK public. This means ensuring that existing Covid vaccines can continue to be used in the most effective way possible.
'We know that a person's immunity may decline over time after
fter their first vaccine course.
'I am pleased to confirm that the Covid vaccines made by Pfizer and AstraZeneca can be used as safe and effective booster doses.
'This is an important regulatory change as it gives further options for the vaccination programme, which has saved thousands of lives so far.
'It will now be for the JVCI to advise on whether booster jabs will be given and if so, which vaccines should be used.
'We have in place a comprehensive safety surveillance strategy for monitoring the safety of all UK-approved Covid vaccines and this surveillance will include booster jabs.'
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'Our independent regulator, the MHRA, has confirmed the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines are safe and effective to be used as booster jabs and third doses for people who are immunosuppressed.
'We continue to prepare for an autumn booster programme to ensure those most vulnerable to Covid have protection extended ahead of winter and against new variants.
'Any booster programme - including which vaccines might be recommended for use - will be based the final advice of the independent JCVI.'
Political pressure has been mounting for weeks for a decision on boosters and was reignited today as figures showed Scotland's daily Covid hospital admissions have risen by 50 per cent in a week.
Data from the Government's Covid dashboard showed that on average there were 114 patients being admitted each day to hospitals in Scotland in the week to September 1, compared to 76 the week prior.
The number seeking treatment for the virus has risen steadily since schools went back from the summer break in the middle of August, when there were about 40 Covid admissions per day.
Daily hospitalisations are now at 60 per cent of the levels seen at the peak of the second wave, but patients are presenting with milder illness and being discharged quicker than earlier phases of the pandemic.
There were 883 Covid patients in hospital with the virus yesterday compared to more than 2,000 at the height of the winter wave in January — in a sign the vaccines are working.
