Trials to guide UK's booster jab program

Clinical data will dictate most effective vaccine combinations to deploy in fall

The United Kingdom, which has fully vaccinated 60 percent of its adults against the novel coronavirus, is turning its attention toward a booster jab to be administered in the fall that will protect against the virus's more virulent strains.

Matt Hancock, the country's health secretary, said details of the booster program will be finalized when the results of clinical trials are known.

"In the next few weeks, when we get the clinical data through on what's the most effective combinations to have … then we'll set out all the details for the booster program," he said on Monday on the BBC's morning television news program Breakfast.

The UK's vaccination program is one of the world's most successful, and four in five adults have now had at least one dose.

But, in addition to knowing which jabs work best as boosters, the i newspaper said the government wants to know how long people remain protected after receiving a first and second jab, because some experts fear those who received their injections early in the vaccination rollout may be becoming vulnerable again.

Anthony Harnden, vice-chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization, said on Radio 4's Today program on Monday the government is also looking at administering its boosters in a joint novel coronavirus and influenza injection.

"We need to think about various vaccines and we need to think about age groups, and we need to think about mixing with flu vaccines," he said.

Ironically, he said "flu could be potentially a bigger problem this winter than COVID" because lockdowns last winter meant few people were exposed to the illness and immunity is therefore very low.

Martin Marshall, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, and Chris Hopson, chief executive of NHS Providers, wrote jointly in The Times newspaper on Monday to warn that significant questions remain about any booster program, saying "the possibility of an annual COVID-19 vaccination approach will bring new and different challenges".

They said combining flu and novel coronavirus jabs, offering boosters that are from different manufacturers to earlier injections, and vaccinating children will all "add significant complexity to the frontline delivery task".

"We wouldn't be able to start a booster or re-vaccination campaign until these questions have been answered," they added.

The BBC said the UK's vaccination program will likely soon get a shot in the arm from new vaccines produced by Novavax and Valneva.

The country has quickly worked through its priority list and is now inviting anyone older than 18 for a first injection. Indeed, it has prioritized its vaccination program to such an extent that it recently pushed back the end of its lockdown, from June 21 to July 19, to ensure as many people as possible can get a jab before social distancing rules are scrapped.