Nurses offered COVID booster to prevent winter staff absences
Posted 09 August 2023 - 12:18
This year’s autumn vaccination programme will include front-line nurses and care workers in England to protect the NHS from staff absences due to the virus
Front-line nurses and care workers in England are eligible for this year’s autumn COVID-19 booster vaccination in a bid to protect the NHS from staff absences due to the virus.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has announced who is eligible for the booster ahead of next winter, with the government scaling back the vaccination programme.
This year the committee has recommended that the vaccination should no longer be offered to those under 65, compared with last year when it was offered to everyone over the age of 50.
Front-line health and care workers are no longer seen to be at much greater risk of COVID-19 compared with the rest of the population, according to the JCVI, but should be offered the jab to protect the health service against coronavirus staff absences during the winter months.
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Among those also eligible for the vaccine are residents in care homes, people aged between six months to 64 years in a clinical risk group, people aged 12 to 64 who are household contacts of a person at clinical risk, and people aged 16 to 64 who are carers.
The committee also advised that the NHS should deliver the programme by early December to ‘optimise protection’ over the winter months.
Chairman of COVID-19 immunisation on the JCVI Wei Shen Lim said: ‘The autumn booster programme will continue to focus on those at greatest risk of getting seriously ill.
‘It is important that everyone who is eligible takes up a booster this autumn – helping to prevent them from hospitalisations and deaths arising from the virus over the winter months.’
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