Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential need for a fourth covid-19 vaccine dose.

On 7 January 2022, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) advised that the priority for the COVID-19 booster programme remains to increase coverage of the first booster dose across the adult population, particularly in older adults and those in clinical risk groups. A second booster dose was not advised at this time, as there is evidence of continued high vaccine effectiveness against hospitalisation due to the Omicron variant following a first booster dose. The JCVI continues to consider the latest available data and its review of the booster programme, particularly in relation to the timing and value of any second booster doses for the most vulnerable.