Vaccine jabs every 6 months?

[Susan333]

Matt Hancock along with other government advisors have suggested that the vaccine may need to be administered every 6 months with Autumn boosters already being prepared for this year. I just wondered if everyone will be keen on taking them every few months if required and whether we will get the same enthusiasm as we have had for this current takeup of the vaccine?

I suppose it will become a routine where we pop down to get the vaccine every few months and become a norm of modern day life

www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n664

@HamFisted

Through what? An annual jab, along side the flu jab which millions of us have each year? It's a 20 min trip to Boots, not six months hard labour.hmm

My sister faints whenever she has to have any procedure involving a needle and she's not alone either. Kudos to you for not having an issue with it.

My sister faints whenever she has to have any procedure involving a needle and she's not alone either. Kudos to you for not having an issue with it

Treatments are available for needle phobia. No one has any need to suffer from it.

It's worth your sister getting sorted because you simply can't go through life avoiding needles. At any time, anyone might need treatment in hospital, which may involve a needle.

@Theunamedcat

We dont all get a flu jab each year 🙄 its been a massive undertaking with vaccine centers being set up so are we all going to have to do this every single year?

Many people do though and the understanding is that the flu and covid vaccine will be combined as one jab. Plenty of employers offer private flu jabs already and have someone attend the office to do the vaccinating. It doesn’t need to be at a specific centre and once a vaccine with better storage needs is found, that will make things much easier.

I'll have a booster as often as needed if it helps keep me and others safe.

The bmj is also saying that research is now showing vaccine efficiency may last for years.

The key term op is “may” , and they don’t know, so will likely go for caution this year. It’s literally going to be like the annual flu vaccine program ultimately.

I suspect that it will be combined into the flu jab and recommended (aka free) for over 50's, possibly younger after this autumn. Obviously this year they aren't in a position to produce a combined jab as it needs testing first. Company to come up with a reasonable price per unit combined jab stands to make a fortune as every wealthy country will order

@HamFisted

Through what? An annual jab, along side the flu jab which millions of us have each year? It's a 20 min trip to Boots, not six months hard labour.hmm

My sister faints whenever she has to have any procedure involving a needle and she's not alone either. Kudos to you for not having an issue with it.

Children have the flu vaccine by nasal spray so potentially there will be something similar on offer for those with needle phobias in the future.

And remember they are still working on other forms, like a tablet or sub lingual spray.

You never know!

Children have the flu vaccine by nasal spray so potentially there will be something similar on offer for those with needle phobias in the future

I read that there is a nasal spray vaccine being worked on. There was a thread about it here a little while ago. Is good news for people who are phobic that want the vaccine. Phobias are not rational.. you can't just get a grip and get over them.

@ineedaholidayandwine

I'll have a booster as often as needed if it helps keep me and others safe.

Yes, yes, yes.

"The NHS is planning an autumn ‘booster’ rollout of Covid vaccines alongside seasonal flu jabs

The NHS is planning to begin a further round of Covid-19 vaccinations in the autumn, offering “boosters” alongside seasonal flu jabs to deal with potentially dangerous new strains of coronavirus.

reports that a network of drive-through vaccination centres is also being prepared for the next phase of the UK’s Covid-19 vaccine roll-out, according to papers from an NHS health service board meeting seen by the paper.

In a report submitted to an NHS board meeting on Thursday, Emily Lawson, the head of the vaccination programme in England, for a second phase of coronavirus vaccinations, which will see the jabs offered to younger age groups over the late spring and summer.

The NHS intends to set up new vaccination centres including drive-through facilities – already being used in some regions to get through patients more quickly – and pop-up clinics.

Citing “convenience of access” to vaccines, Dr Lawson said the NHS will introduce “additional innovative delivery modes”, and is now working on the basis that a “revaccination campaign” will begin later this year.

Those who have already received their full innoculations against Covid-19 will be given booster shots, tailored to work effectively against new strains of the virus which may be resistant to existing jabs.

www.thestar.co.uk/read-this/the-nhs-is-planning-an-autumn-booster-rollout-of-covid-vaccines-alongside-seasonal-flu-jabs-3179320

Yes....

With the severity of side effects I can't see the uptake being very good a couple of years down the line. People will come to dread their 6 monthly bout of mini flu and avoid it if they can, not to mention the time off work being a hassle for the unlucky ones.

Yes it's better than covid but we instinctively avoid or put off anything painful or uncomfortable, and after seeing so many people be completely wiped out for a week after their jabs I doubt people will have the stamina to keep going through it again and again.

I'll happily take my booster despite the awful time I had after my first AZ dose, I'm just thinking on a general population level here.

I dont think it would be as bad as
It is limited by supply currently
Distancing is needed
More pharmacies etc could run it
/ supermarkets
If it were in summer/ autumn it wouldnt even need to be inside really
Lots of people would be relatively happy to pay- maybe getting vaccine choice or time etc or to do whole family at once or before a holiday.
If nothing else some might want a booster before going abroad to avoid being stuck in another hospital and what if your travel insurance didnt cover it.
Elderly and ecv may be less likely to make enough antibodies.
Will be interesting to see if the
length of protection varies by age

Speculation does not help. I recognise the possibility and likelihood of booster jabs, given it happens for some other diseases, but how often we do not know yet.

Government ministers, almost all of whom are overpromoted, incompetent or nasty, do not help by idle speculation.

Don't you think it's absolutely bloody wonderful that a year after the emergence of a novel virus we have a number of viable vaccines, vaccination programmes running out all over the world and are already looking at future needs, short and long term.

We - global we, humankind.

Why not focus on that rather than whinging about the poor sods, who did fuck all to cause it, who now have to tell you that your world has been changed for the foreseeable future?

Is it not more the issue that we'll never be able to stand still and say, right, that's everyone vaccinated, now we unlock. We will never be in that position.

Treatments are available for needle phobia. No one has any need to suffer from it.

It's worth your sister getting sorted because you simply can't go through life avoiding needles. At any time, anyone might need treatment in hospital, which may involve a needle.

You do realise to someone with a phobia it's really not just a case of getting help, even the thought of having to face my fears makes me feel ill. I mentioned it to my GP and they laughed and called me a baby so I've never followed it up. I can't afford to have private treatment so I just hope I'm unconscious if I need treatment involving needles!

@LizzieMacQueen

Is it not more the issue that we'll never be able to stand still and say, right, that's everyone vaccinated, now we unlock. We will never be in that position.

But that isn't the goal. It won't happen. We will have to learn to live with it. As so many experts standing on podiums have said.

@DayBath

With the severity of side effects I can't see the uptake being very good a couple of years down the line. People will come to dread their 6 monthly bout of mini flu and avoid it if they can, not to mention the time off work being a hassle for the unlucky ones.

Yes it's better than covid but we instinctively avoid or put off anything painful or uncomfortable, and after seeing so many people be completely wiped out for a week after their jabs I doubt people will have the stamina to keep going through it again and again.

I'll happily take my booster despite the awful time I had after my first AZ dose, I'm just thinking on a general population level here.

All of that will be taken into account.

The last time I heard an expert speak on this (i.e. NOT a government minister) they hoped that boosters would only be for the most vulnerable groups unless something alarming comes to light about a new variant.

Equally, annual vaccinations are likely to be mainly for the most vulnerable - for everyone else, it may be several years between jabs.

Of course nothing is set in stone.

Ha, good luck with that!

If the whole country needs vaccination every six months aren't they going to employ some people to do this, a lot of it is run by volunteers isn't it.

My concern is the difference between Pfizer and Oxford in terms of how effective they are against new variants.

As AZ is pretty bad against the SA variant then surely those of us who have had it should be offered a booster, especially once foreign travel is opened up. It seems wrong to only offer the booster to vulnerable groups when some of us have a vaccine that really only works properly against the original strain. I'm not ungrateful, it's a very practical concern that some will be more at risk than others simply down to the brand of vaccine they've had.

Sorry I meant to say AZ is bad against the Brazil variant rather than SA (although it isn't as good as Pfizer against that one either)

Yeah, I’ll take a pass on becoming a pin cushion thanks very much.