No new variant booster for under 50s?

[carefullycourageous]

I have been reading about the new variant booster and see it is not going to be available for under 50s. This worries me as COVID is no bloody fun for people of all ages.

Is there any chance that in future those who want to get a booster privately will be able to?

Thing is that the vaccine does not, and never has, prevented anyone from getting Covid! So if that's your goal I honestly think you may be disappointed.

I've had 4 jabs and I've had Covid twice.

It is poor that they are restricting the vaccine to over 50s.

Of course it costs to deliver the vaccine, but it also costs not to deliver the vaccine, as workers have to take time off work. It is poor that I can access a flu vaccine, when flu is likely to be far less impactful.

The government has done a poor job overall here I feel.

The vaccine is understood to limit the worst impacts. Presumably you would have been more ill without the vaccine.

I know - and quite possibly I'd have been much sicker if I hadn't been vaccinated. But the jabs don't stop you getting it and you can still be ill for several days with it (I was both times).

well if all the 'it's only a cold' numpties let everyone else that wants one go first, hopefully everyone that wants one, will get one!!

I'll be there as soon as I'm offered one.

(was one of the shielding, so hopefully sooner rather than later)

mara I know it won't stop me catching it. But it does minimise the illness.

I'll get a flu jab because I'm pregnant. Do you know if pregnancy means you get a booster too?

@carefullycourageous it's not just over 50s though, it's those in higher risk groups too or those in contact with higher risk groups
I'm 38 and will have had 5 vaccines

No, I know, but the basic cut off is 50 and I think it should be anyone.

The cut off is 50 for now. It doesn't mean others won't get one, a,though the flu vaccine isn't rolled out to all ages.

Vaccine programmes have to be rolled out in stages. They can't do everyone at once.

Everyone who is entitled to a flu jab will be offered a booster.
Kids up to year 11 being offered flu again.

I don't think Moderna can supply enough of the bivalent booster by the end of the year to meet the numbers of people who fit into the over 50s/flu jab group - there's something like 28 million of them, and Moderna were only offering 18 million doses by the end of the year. So actually - under 50s probably have a better chance of getting the new jab because if offered the jab they'll be in a later cohort when supply has picked up.

Having had two Covid-colds, the first being a scratchy throat 2 weeks after my winter booster and second being under the weather for 4 days, I'm more than happy to stand back and let people with higher age/ medical priority go first.

I've felt more crap from AZ1 and the Moderna booster than I did from the actual illness anyway. A vaccine that's worse than the illness is a bloody hard sell.

DS2 has had Covid twice and barely noticed it either, so I saw absolutely no point in pausing before putting his vaccination invitation into the recycling bin.

We've now been exposed to the virus and fended it off multiple times and I don't see any benefits to additional vaccines for us at this point. That's a different situation to people with additional health conditions or age as criteria to consider, and vaccines should be prioritised to maximum medical benefit not wasted on the worried-well.

I don't even understand why we're having another round of covid vaccinations. Isn't covid mild and endemic now?
Is it because of long covid and all the strokes and that, or do they think people are going to start dying from covid in large numbers again?
I read a thing a while back that said almost as many people could die of covid in 2022 as did in 2021 or 2020 but I could hardly credit it.
I know there have been about 2000 covid deaths since we hit the 200,000 mark last month.

@RadioRouge COVID is still serious for those in higher risk groups. It is not significantly milder, without the vaccines it'd be worse, vaccine immunity wanes.

Some days I think all the things we believe about covid are wrong.
It's not getting progressively milder.
Omicron didn't end the pandemic.
None of the exit waves have been the end.
Herd immunity is not happening.
It doesn't just kill the over 80s.
It's not just a cold.
Children are affected by it.
Schools do drive infection.
It's airborne so washing our hands is of limited use.
Any more?

It's the time off work that has been the real problem for me. I changed my job over it. I've got children so reasonably I've got to expect to be off with it over and over again, and I'm hoping with my new job I can work from home when it's the children who are ill with covid so I only need to take time off when I'm too ill to work. The last time I had it I was too I'll to do anything. I still don't feel fully back to normal.