UK sets out Covid plan for fall and winter; booster shots to begin

LONDON — U.K. lawmakers on Tuesday outlined the government’s fall-winter plan to tackle the coronavirus crisis, detailing a series of policies aimed at averting the need for more lockdowns.

It comes shortly after British officials gave the green light to offer Covid-19 vaccine boosters to vulnerable people and everyone aged over 50-years-old six months after their second dose.

The U.K.’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation said it recommended that the Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine was used for the booster dose, or alternatively a half-dose of a Moderna shot.

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said he had accepted this advice from the JCVI, and the National Health Service in England expects to begin next week. Wales’ health minister has accepted JCVI’s advice on booster vaccines.

Health and care policy is devolved across the U.K., with different provisions made in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Separately, all children aged 12 to 15-years-old in England will be offered one dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech shot. The move, which follows in the footsteps of many other countries, is designed to help reduce disruption to education.

Speaking on Tuesday afternoon at a press conference from Downing Street, Prime Minister Boris Johnson compared the current situation to the same period a year earlier.

In one way, “our position today is actually more challenging,” Johnson said, citing a much higher level of Covid cases. “But, in many other crucial respects, the British people, all of us collectively and individually, are incomparably better placed to fight the disease.”

The prime minister said more than 80% of people aged over 16-years-old have now been fully vaccinated and Covid antibodies are in 90% of adults.

When asked what the trigger might be for the government to enact so-called “plan B” contingency measures, Johnson replied: “I think just bear in mind what we are trying to prevent and that is the overwhelming of the NHS. That’s got to remain the objective.”

“What I would stress about plan B is that contains a number of different shots in the locker. And you wouldn’t necessarily play them all at once, far from it. You’d want to do things in a graduated way,” Johnson said.

Speaking alongside the prime minister, Patrick Vallance, the U.K. government’s chief scientific advisor, said the link between Covid infections and hospitalizations would be an important indicator through the fall and winter.

Professor Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, added the rate of change in hospitalizations and the overall state of the NHS would also be closely monitored.