2024’s NHS Covid-19 vaccination programme is likely to be even more limited than last year’s, the government’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has said.
Last autumn’s Covid vaccination was much smaller than the 2022 campaign, which saw all over-50s being offered a jab.
With the option of private Covid-19 vaccinations also now on the table this year, this opens up the prospect that we may see some employers going it alone this coming autumn and winter to reduce employee absence and ill health.
The JCVI said that this spring NHS vaccinations should be offered to adults aged 75 years and over, residents in a care home for older adults, and individuals aged six months and over who are immunosuppressed.
Looking further into the year, the committee highlighted that the combination of naturally acquired and vaccine-derived immunity in the population means Covid-19 is now a relatively mild disease for the vast majority of people.
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“This ongoing increase in population immunity permits the development of a more targeted programme aimed at those at higher risk of developing serious Covid-19 disease,” the JCVI said.
Nevertheless, the virus has not yet settled into a stable pattern of clear seasonality. “Infection with SARS-CoV-2 continues to occur throughout the year, with winter being the period of greatest threat from Covid-19 – both in relation to the risk of infection and the pressures on health systems, including the NHS.
“JCVI will continue to review the optimal timing and frequency of COVID-19 vaccination beyond spring 2024.
“Based on the most recent cost-effectiveness assessment, it is anticipated that any autumn 2024 campaign would likely be smaller than previous autumn Covid-19 campaigns,” it added.
The currently available vaccines provided “good” protection against severe Covid-19 disease, such as the need for hospitalisation or even the risk of death, it said.
However, because of the continuing transmissibility of the virus, protection against asymptomatic or mild Covid-19 was only modest and of short duration.
“The value of Covid-19 vaccination as a means to reduce transmission of infection from one person to another is accordingly limited. These factors will influence the value of future routine Covid-19 vaccination for groups such as healthcare workers and household contacts of immunosuppressed individuals,” the JCVI said.
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