(Reuters) – Britain is planning booster COVID-19 vaccines for over 70 year olds from September to protect them from new virus variants as the government drives ahead with its vaccine rollout, The Telegraph reported on Friday, citing the vaccine deployment minister.
“The most likely date will be September. Jonathan Van-Tam (the deputy chief medical officer) thinks that if we are going to see a requirement for a booster jab to protect the most vulnerable, (it) would be around September,” British Vaccine Deployment Minister Nadhim Zahawi told the paper https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2021/03/26/exclusive-over-70s-get-booster-covid-vaccines-september.
The booster COVID-19 vaccine will be given to those aged over 70 as well as frontline NHS and social care workers, the report added.
UK government and Public Health England were not immediately available to Reuters request for comment.
(Reporting by Aakriti Bhalla and Akriti Sharma in Bengaluru; Editing by Chris Reese)
