UK bets on boosters, vaccine for teens to prevent winter restrictions

The U.K. government is hoping that booster coronavirus vaccines, jabs for teenagers and potential mandatory vaccinations for health care workers will prevent the need for further restrictions during the coming winter months.

In a statement to Parliament on Tuesday, Health Secretary Sajid Javid set out the government’s plan for the autumn and winter, when there are fears coronavirus cases could rise alongside cases of seasonal flu. The country’s health service is already facing significant waiting lists of people who have been unable to be treated during the pandemic.

Javid said that as children returned to school, more people returned to work and people met up indoors, the demands on the health service would increase. The government’s plan, Javid said, “gives the nation the best possible chance of living with COVID without the need for stringent social and economic restrictions.”

However, if Plan A fails, Javid said that a contingency Plan B had been written up, which would include the possibility of mandatory face coverings in certain settings and guidance to work from home. The potential for vaccine passports was also on the cards.

Central to the government’s plan are booster vaccines, which were recommended by the committee that advises the government on vaccination. Javid said the government had taken up the advice, meaning that from next week the National Health Service will start offering a third vaccine to those aged 50 and over, front-line health care workers, those living in care homes or with immunocompromised people and people with conditions that put them at higher risk of severe COVID-19. 

On Monday, the government announced that it would also be rolling out coronavirus vaccines to children aged 12 and over. This is seen as an important step in ensuring that children face minimal disruption at school. 

Javid also said that he believes it is “highly likely” that front-line NHS staff and those in wider social care settings will have to be vaccinated to protect those around them. The government is consulting on this; currently, vaccines are only mandated for care home staff in England. 

Other measures that the government hopes will prevent significant rises in cases are continued free coronavirus testing and the wearing of facemasks in crowded and enclosed spaces. 

The final pillar of the government’s plan is to “look beyond our shores” in working to accelerate access to vaccines elsewhere. The U.K. has promised to donate 100 million coronavirus vaccines. As of last month, the U.K. had sent only a tiny proportion of these doses.