U.K.: Who’s eligible for the 2024 COVID-19 vaccine, or ‘Spring Booster’?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

 

As we move into spring, protection from any earlier COVID-19 vaccination you may have had will be starting to wane. For those who are more likely to become seriously ill from COVID-19, the NHS offers a free vaccine in the spring to top up their protection, previously known as the ‘Spring Booster’.

 

Current vaccines provide good protection against severe disease and hospitalisation. UKHSA surveillance data relating to last spring’s programme shows that those who received a vaccine were around 50% less likely to be admitted to hospital with COVID-19 from 2 weeks following vaccination, compared to those who remained unvaccinated.

 

According to World Health Organization data, 400,000 lives in England are estimated to have been saved up to March 2023 due to the COVID-19 vaccine programme.

 

(more)

 

https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2024/04/16/whos-eligible-for-the-2024-covid-19-vaccine-or-spring-booster/

 

 

[Robert Paulson]

If it’s such a lifesaver I wonder why people are taking it in such low number. Seriously folks if there were a lif pe saving medicine people would be stomping over eachother to get it. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

NHS rolls out new variant Covid vaccine as virus kills 100 a week

The new vaccination project started this week with jabs between now and June

 

The NHS has started giving booster jabs of the Covid vaccine as the virus is still killing 100 people a week in England. People aged 75 years and older, residents in care homes for older people, and those aged six months and over with a weakened immune system will be offered a dose of COVID-19 vaccine.

 

Those who are eligible will be offered an appointment between now and June, with those at highest risk being called in first. If you are turning 75 years of age between April and June, you do not have to wait until your birthday, you can attend when you are called for vaccination.

...

Those getting the jab will be given a booster dose of a vaccine made by Pfizer or Moderna and approved in the UK. These vaccines have been updated since the original vaccines and target a different COVID-19 variant. These updated vaccines give slightly higher levels of antibody against the more recent strains of COVID-19 (Omicron).

 

(more)

 

https://www.mylondon.news/news/health/nhs-rolls-out-new-variant-29011931

 

 

[frank83628]

so, a flu shot then.... 

[The Fugitive]

3 minutes ago, frank83628 said:

so, a flu shot then.... 

For 75+ instead of 65+

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

The updated COVID vaccines now are also available in the UK via private pharmacies to people who do NOT meet the NHS criteria listed above. But the difference is, those shots have to be purchased instead of being provided free by the NHS.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/02/pharmacies-in-england-and-scotland-to-offer-private-covid-jabs-for-45

 

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2024/mar/26/boots-to-offer-covid-vaccines-in-england-for-nearly-100-pounds-a-jab

 

https://theconversation.com/private-covid-jabs-lead-to-concerns-about-creeping-privatisation-in-the-nhs-227471

 

 

Edited April 19 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[soi3eddie]

Saw this yesterday. This would be my mother's 9th Covid jab. How many more!!!

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

7 minutes ago, soi3eddie said:

Saw this yesterday. This would be my mother's 9th Covid jab. How many more!!!

 

 

How many annual flu shots do at-risk people / senior citizens get?  I don't really hear people complaining about those each year when flu season is approaching.

 

"According to World Health Organization data, 400,000 lives in England are estimated to have been saved up to March 2023 due to the COVID-19 vaccine programme."

 

https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2024/04/16/whos-eligible-for-the-2024-covid-19-vaccine-or-spring-booster/

 

 

"The COVID jab protects against serious cases of the disease. Even one dose of the vaccine may reduce the risk of long COVID symptoms. Long COVID reportedly costs the NHS £23.4m in primary care consultations each year, so there would be clear benefits in making sure the vaccine is accessible to the broadest number of people possible.

 

So why, then, is access being restricted to high-risk groups and those able to pay? While all the reasons behind this decision aren’t entirely clear, the cost of COVID booster campaigns may have been an influence in revising eligibility criteria."

 

https://theconversation.com/private-covid-jabs-lead-to-concerns-about-creeping-privatisation-in-the-nhs-227471

 

Edited April 19 by TallGuyJohninBKK

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Health experts issue Covid warning as cases rise with virus still causing severe illness

A Covid warning has been issued with health experts urging people who may have the virus to stay at home.

 

The warning comes following a rise in Covid cases. In its latest update, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) confirmed the percentage of people who tested positive among those with Covid symptoms increased to 4.2%, compared to 3.9% in the previous week.

 

Officials are reminding the public that despite the pandemic being long over, the virus is still causing hospitalisations and severe illness - especially among people in at-risk groups. Those who fall ill with symptoms of Covid are asked to stay home until they feel better, and to use a face mask if it's necessary for them to go out, reports the Mirror.

 

(more)

 

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/health-experts-issue-covid-warning-071325022.html

 

[Robert Paulson]

I wonder what the long term effects of these vaccines and boosters are. And I wonder if the effects could be stronger the more boosters you take. But oh yeah, I forgot, we don’t know the long term effects yet. 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

We're now almost 3-1/2 years and nearly 13 BILLION doses into the worldwide COVID vaccines campaign. So I'd say it's a pretty safe bet that whatever there is to be known has become known at this point.

 

Because:

5 Reasons We Know The COVID-19 Vaccines Don't Have Long-Term Health Effects

...

" a perpetual worry that’s fueling vaccine hesitancy is the question of long-term health effects. “The only long-term effect of the COVID-19 vaccines is survival,” says Dr. Cunningham, [medical director of infection control and prevention with Henry Ford Health].

...

1. History has showed us that with vaccines, adverse effects occur within eight weeks of vaccination—not years later. “These COVID-19 vaccines have been given to hundreds of millions of people for more than a year, so we know they are extremely safe,” says Dr. Cunningham. “You are much, much more likely to be hospitalized from COVID-19 than you are to have an adverse reaction from the vaccines.”

...

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were created using messenger RNA (or mRNA) technology, which has been used for about 10 years in cancer treatment, with no long-term effects detected. And even before that, scientists had been working with mRNA technology for years."

 

(more)

 

https://www.henryford.com/blog/2022/02/5-reasons-we-know-the-covid-vaccines-dont-have-longterm-effects

 

 

[Robert Paulson]

In USA everyone 6 months old and older is eligible. Amazing how very few people are taking it. I wonder why that could be. 
 

we all do know that if there was actual, life saving medicine everybody and their mothers would be breaking down doors to get it, right? 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Some 700,000 Brits To Get Free Covid-19 Booster Shots This Week

Some 700,000 people in England will get a free Covid-19 vaccine this week as the country’s spring booster campaign kicks off.

 

Starting Monday, the elderly and those with weakened immune systems will be able to get a shot free of charge to reduce the impact of the disease.

...

Steve Russell, who directs vaccines and immunizations at the country’s public health system, the National Health Service, said last years’ data showed “those who received the spring jab were up to 50% less likely to be admitted to hospital for three to four months afterwards.”

 

(more)

 

https://www.forbes.com/sites/katherinehignett/2024/04/21/some-700000-brits-to-get-free-covid-19-booster-shots-this-week/?sh=322a86724d6b

 

[Robert Paulson]

I also wonder why these manufacturers needed indemnity for their obviously safe and effective product. This is all such a mystery