Coronavirus: Vaccination
(asked on 20th July 2021) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether it is his policy to ensure that in any booster vaccine programme third doses of covid-19 vaccines are prioritised for people who are immunosuppressed in (a) Newcastle upon Tyne and (b) other areas with a number of cases.
The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) recognises that some individuals who are severely immunosuppressed due to underlying health conditions or medical treatment may not achieve the same full immune response to the initial two dose COVID-19 vaccination course as those who are not immunosuppressed. The committee has therefore advised on 1 September that as a precautionary measure those with severe immunosuppression at or around the time of their first or second dose of COVID-19 vaccination should receive a third dose. The aim is to raise the level of immunity in these individuals closer to the level of immunity as the non-immunosuppressed achieve from two doses in Newcastle upon Tyne and other areas.
The Government has accepted this advice, which will be applied at a national level. Severe immunosuppression at the time of vaccination is defined using guidance and timings outlined at the following link:
The purpose of the separate potential booster programme is to maximise protection in those who are most vulnerable to serious COVID-19 ahead of the winter months. The JCVI published interim advice on a potential Covid-19 booster vaccination programme on 30 June 2021, which is available at the following link:
Final decisions on the timing and scope and cohort eligibility of any COVID-19 vaccine booster programme will be confirmed once the JCVI has provided their final advice.
It is expected that severely immunosuppressed individuals will become eligible for a booster dose as part of any routine booster programme from around six months after their third dose, pending further advice.