The government will make it easier to book Covid vaccine booster shots from Monday in a bid to top up immunity over winter.
The NHS jab booking service will be updated to let people over 50 and those most at risk from coronavirus pre-book their jab for five months after their second dose.
The change, introduced by health secretary Sajid Javid, aims to speed up the vaccination programme by letting people have their injection on the day they become eligible.
Mr Javid said the government was keenly aware that “immunity begins to wane after six months, especially for the elderly and the vulnerable”.
“I strongly urge everybody who is eligible for a Covid-19 booster or flu vaccine to take up the offer as soon as you can,” he said.
“For those not yet eligible, please help your parents, grandparents or vulnerable loved ones get their jabs – it could save their life.
“And if you haven’t yet had your first and second vaccines, it is not too late – the NHS will always be there to welcome you with open arms.
“This truly is a national mission. If we all come together and play our part, we can get through this challenging winter, avoid a return to restrictions and enjoy Christmas.”
The Department for Health says 10 million people across the UK have now received their top-up jabs, with coverage in the over-80 age group as high as 70 per cent. Three in five over-50s in England have also had their immunity topped up.
The latest evidence from the government’s scientific advisers suggests that protection against symptomatic disease falls from 65 per cent three months after the second dose to 45 per cent six months after the second dose for the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine. The decline for the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is less significant, from 90 per cent to 65 per cent.
Protection against hospitalisation meanwhile falls from 95 per cent to 75 per cent for Oxford/AstraZeneca and 99 per cent to 90 per cent for Pfizer/BioNTech.
