One of the most prominent scientists behind the Oxford vaccine against Covid-19 said that she doesn't support widespread booster jab campaigns in the UK, as immunity is strong among fully vaccinated individuals.
Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, the inventor of the Oxford/AstraZeneca Jab, which is one of the most popular Covid vaccines worldwide, suggested that extra doses be given to countries with low vaccination rates.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, (MHRA), has declared that the AstraZeneca and Pfizer jabs can be used as boosters. However, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has yet to issue its advice to ministers.
Gilbert's comments were made after data was presented to JCVI. According to the Times, it indicated that a Pfizer booster vaccine several months after a second jab significantly boosted the body's immune response to Covid-19.
Gilbert stated to the Daily Telegraph that seniors and people with weak immune systems should be eligible for a third shot, but that we don't need to boost everyone.
She said that the virus spreads among people and evolves. We want to end these epidemics as soon as possible. We will assess each case and give boosters to the elderly and immunocompromised. However, I don't think we should boost everyone. The majority of people have good immunity.
Gilbert previously mentioned the large disparity in vaccination rates among different countries. He suggested that jabs should only be given to areas where it is difficult to vacinate everyone once and not to some people three times.
She stated that vaccines must be available to those countries in which only a small number of people have been vaccinated. This is something we need to improve upon. The first dose is the most effective.
Within days, the JCVI will issue its recommendations on who should get a booster shot. Already, it has recommended that a third dose be given to those with severely compromised immune systems.
Oliver Dowden, UK culture secretary, stated to Sky News that the government had made a commitment to start the booster program in September, and it would be launched this month.
The booster program will be launched later in September. We are still waiting for the final JCVI advice about who and what criteria will be used to get that booster.
I don't know when exactly the JCVI will make their announcement. However, they had already committed to it in September so I expect it to be announced very soon.
Dowden responded to Gilbert by saying: There is a wide range of opinions among scientists. Thats why we have JCVI. We follow that advice.
We have committed to 100m jabs in other countries by 2022. It's not an either/or proposition. We have already delivered 9m jabs. Both of these things are being done.
A booster program is something that almost all countries are considering. Israel is already doing this. This is not an exception.
The JCVI will be reviewing the data from the University Hospital Southampton's Cov-Boost trial. The Pfizer jab is being tested in the UK's 19.3m clinical trial alongside other drugs from AstraZeneca and Moderna, Novavax and Janssen from Johnson & Johnson.
This study will answer key questions like whether people who have taken two doses AstraZeneca might be more likely to benefit from a third dose Pfizer.
According to the new MHRA guidance, boosters from Pfizer can be given to any person regardless of previous doses. AstraZeneca boosters can only be given to people who have had the AstraZeneca jab.
According to the latest government data, 48,344,566 people received their first vaccine dose on September 8. This is an increase of 25,131 over the previous day. 43,708,906 received both shots. That's an increase of 87.960.
According to the government, another 167 people died within 28 days after testing positive for Covid-19. This brings the total UK death toll by this measure up to 133,841.
The government reported that there were 38,013 more confirmed Covid-19 cases in the UK as of Thursday morning.
Professor Sir Andrew Pollard, director of the Oxford Vaccine Group said that the world must turn on the tap to combat the coronavirus fires internationally.
He said that there is currently a global firestorm, which puts enormous pressure on many health systems across many countries.
There were a lot of pledges of money and vaccines at the G7 meeting that took place in June. Covax has received a lot of this money, and is now in a position to purchase their fire hoses.
We need to turn on the water supply and provide water for those countries. This must happen immediately.
