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The government has announced that people below the age of 65 will no longer be able to receive Covid and flu vaccines this autumn.
Previously, everyone over the age of 50 was eligible for a Covid and flu booster jab, but the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has revised this programme.
Now, only adults over the age of 65, care home residents, frontline health and social care workers, carers and at-risk groups will be able to access the vaccines.
However, Dr Mary Ramsay, the director of public health programmes at the UK Health Security Agency, has warned that the virus “has not gone away” and it is expected to circulate “more widely over the winter months”.
Covid booster jabs significantly reduce the risk of hospital admission
Data from last autumn’s programme showed that those who received a booster were around 53% less likely to be admitted to hospital with Covid-19 in the two to four weeks following vaccination, compared to those who did not receive a booster.
Denying middle aged people Covid and flu jabs could therefore put added pressure on the NHS this winter, at a time when the health service is already under tremendous strain.
Despite this, Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay, says he has accepted the advice from the JCVI and the programme will still “protect the most vulnerable from Covid.”
“NHS England will confirm details on how and when eligible people can access the autumn booster vaccine shortly, and I would urge anyone invited – including those yet to have their first jab – to come forward as soon as possible,” he added.
NHSE will reduce the fee that GPs are paid to deliver Covid vaccines
The news comes following an announcement that NHS England plans to reduce the fee that GPs are paid to deliver Covid vaccines by 25%.
The British Medical Association (BMA) says this move “undervalues general practice” and “threatens the safety of vulnerable patients”, making it much more difficult for practices to deliver the vaccination programme this autumn.
Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, chair of the BMA’s GP Committee for England said: “During Covid, GPs and their practice teams demonstrated that they could deliver an effective world beating vaccination programme in challenging circumstances. Patients and GPs alike will despair that NHSE has announced substantial cuts to funding and resource of this national vaccination programme on the same day as news stories detail the arrival of a fresh Covid variant.
“At a time when we should be learning from history, particularly around the importance and value of protecting our patients and minimising hospital admissions this winter, it is disappointing that practices will be put in a position where they are no longer able to deliver this, though no fault of their own due to short-sighted cuts.
“The Covid vaccine delivery process is twice as long as administering flu jabs, and NHSE knows this. Our patients and communities need to be protected, and our practices resourced and supported to undertake this important work.”