London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 11, 2025

Covid: UK vaccine booster scheme likely to start in September - Sajid Javid

Covid: UK vaccine booster scheme likely to start in September - Sajid Javid

A UK Covid vaccine booster scheme will take place and is likely to start next month, the health secretary has said.

Sajid Javid said he was uncertain of the exact start date as the government was waiting for the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation's "final advice" before proceeding.

Mr Javid added the "most vulnerable" would be offered the third jab first.

However, it remains unclear whether the booster scheme will be for all adults, or just some, more vulnerable groups.

Interim advice from the JCVI, released last month, suggested more than 30 million of the most vulnerable people - including all over-50s - should receive a third dose.

Asked about the scheme on Thursday, Mr Javid said: "We are going to have a booster scheme. It will start some time in September.

"I couldn't tell you exactly when because before we start it... we need to get the final advice from our group of experts, our independent scientific and medical advisers, the JCVI, and so we're waiting for their final opinion."

Earlier in the day, Prof Adam Finn told the BBC that the JCVI, of which he is a member, would be "imminently deciding" that some people "will need a third dose, particularly people who we know are very unlikely to be well protected by those first two doses".

"But I think we do need more evidence before we can make a firm decision on a much broader booster programme," he added.


The health secretary says "a" booster campaign will take place, but the more important question is "who" will be boosted. We still don't know.

There are scientific and ethical arguments about a booster campaign.

For some there is a clear benefit - particularly those with weakened immune systems in whom it takes three doses to do the job of two.

But for the rest of the population, the evidence so far shows two doses are providing lasting protection from becoming seriously ill and needing hospital treatment.

Whether a mass vaccination campaign is necessary or should be far more targeted is the subject of intense debate.

This comes at a time that rich countries are being accused of giving vaccines to people at little risk from Covid and that would save far more lives if they were shared with the world.

About 70% of the entire UK population has had at least one jab. In the poorest countries that figure is about 1%.


The announcement comes after it was revealed more than 125,000 16 and 17-year-olds in England have had the vaccine in the two weeks since the NHS was given approval to offer that age group a jab.

In total, 47,460,526 first doses have now been given across the UK, while 41,157,069 people have had two doses.

But the decision to offer people in the UK a third jab is not without controversy.

Immunologist Prof Peter Openshaw, a member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), which advises the government, said the "question about boosters is a contentious one".

He said studies into the effectiveness of booster schemes were still ongoing and "everyone is very keen that if we do have surplus vaccines, that they're not necessarily used in this country, but might be sent overseas".

And, earlier this month, the head of the Oxford Vaccine Group said doses needed to "go where they can have the greatest impact" - to protect unvaccinated people abroad.

Prof Sir Andrew Pollard, who led the team that created the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, said decisions on whether to give boosters "should be scientifically driven".

Asked whether the JCVI had concerns about plans for the booster scheme, Mr Javid said: "It's only with their expert advice that government would want to continue with their plans.

"I don't want to prejudge what they're going to say but, based on their interim advice, I think we can be confident that we will start a booster scheme next month."



Immunologist Prof Peter Openshaw: "The question of boosters is a contentious one"


Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Florida Murder Case: The Adelson Family, the Killing of Dan Markel, and the Trial of Donna Adelson
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
×