The UK Government's advisors have today said that all over-40s should be offered a Covid booster vaccine.
Booster jabs are currently being rolled out in Scotland to everyone over the age of 50, as well as people who are clinically vulnerable, carers and frontline health workers.
Now the UK Health Security Agency says that three doses of the vaccine cuts risk of infection by more than 93%.
Extending the booster scheme to people over 40 could help to cut transmission of the virus over the winter months, and therefore ease pressure on the NHS.
But, does the booster rollout for over-40s apply to Scotland?
Here's what you need to know...
Will over-40s in Scotland get the Covid booster?
Yes - people aged 40-49 in Scotland will be offered a booster vaccine.
Health is a devolved matter meaning the the Scottish government is in charge of decisions on vaccinations.
The Scottish government has confirmed that all over-40s in Scotland will be offered a booster jab.
This will come in the form of either Pfizer or a half dose of the Moderna jab, administered six months after the second dose of the Covid vaccine.
Scotland's Chief Medical officer Dr Gregor Smith said: "These will be offered once the earlier agreed priority groups have had their booster injections to ensure the most vulnerable groups are offered protection first.
"The 40-49 year old group will son be able to book their own appointments through the NHS online portal - which is now live for 50-59 year olds."
Why are booster jabs being offered?
During a press conference on Monday morning, chairman of the JCVI Professor Wei Shen Lim said that booster jabs "markedly" improved protection against Covid.
According to the JCVI, not only does the booster strenthen existing protection, but it "extends the duration of that protection against serious disease".
Meanwhile, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam cited the situation in Israel, where there has been a reduction in cases following the booster rollout, as evidence of the success of the vaccine scheme.
He said: "They’re showing that in people aged over 60 in Israel, after a messenger RNA booster, and compared with simply having received the first two doses of Pfizer – in the case of Israel three to four weeks apart – They are observing a tenfold reduction against all Covid infections, an 18.7-fold reduction against hospitalisations, and a 14.7-fold reduction against mortality, and that’s on top of the initial course of Pfizer.
"So I believe therefore that if the booster programme is successful, and with very high uptake, we can massively reduce the worry about hospitalisation and death due to Covid at Christmas, and for the rest of this winter."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel