Covid vax question

[Daffntulip]

My dad has received the message pasted below about the covid vaccine. Is this recent or are they using old stock again like last year? Happy to pay to go private if necessary for a more up-to-date vaccine, if available in U.K. If not, I'll book him for this one. Thanks. Please no 'don't get vaccinated posts / it's just a cold' etc posts. TIA.

'You have been invited to book your flu and COVID-19 Spikevax (Moderna) booster vaccination. This is the only covid booster brand currently in the UK. You can have both the flu and covid vaccine, or just one of the vaccines. Please book your appointment now. If the preferred date is not available, please check again in a few days as further dates will be added. Vaccines are essential to protect you and your family this autumn/winter.

They won’t use out of date vaccines.

Sorry, I worded that poorly. I didn't mean old stock as in out-of-date/shouldn't use, I meant old stock as in not as effective as more updated vaccines.

https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/managing-covid-19-vaccines-guidance-and-sops/ has an update history at the bottom saying this:

"Removed all XBB.1.5 preparation articles and replaced with JN.1 articles to support the Autumn 2024 campaign."

JN.1 has only just been approved. That seems to imply everyone will get JN.1 versions of vaccines this autumn. However this page https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-autumn-2024-vaccination-programme-jcvi-advice-8-april-2024/jcvi-statement-on-the-covid-19-vaccination-programme-for-autumn-2024-8-april-2024 from five months ago says this:

"The cost effectiveness assessment for the autumn 2024 programme considered the unique situation that COVID-19 vaccines have already been pre-procured as part of the government’s pandemic emergency response. There will be sufficient pre-procured COVID-19 vaccine doses, available at no additional cost, to complete the autumn 2024 campaign."

That makes it sound like they'll be using up things they've already got.

So who knows really. Maybe phoning up wherever is delivering the vaccine just before the appointment will let you find out.

i has the booster last winter and remember thinking it was not an up to date version. Anyone know any more about it this year’s stock?

I have administered around 24,000 covid vaccines over the years. We have had to do all new training this year, as we do each campaign to make sure we are up to date.
Moderna spike vax is one of the options for this age group.
Last years stock would likely be out of date now anyway and they wouldn't use it, in the spring campaign it was a race against time to use the vaccine before it expired.
Other sites may be different though.

The vaccines are tweaked to the current strains, just like they do for the flu.

How odd that it says the Moderna is the only updated booster. The updated Pfizer booster has already been approved.

The latest versions will be for the JN.1 strains (Flirt etc.).

Is the booster you get if you are entitled to it under the NHS different to if you pay privately ? I've just enquired about a private one and I was told it was Pfizer .

They don't make different ones for private/nhs.

I thought you could get Novavax privately?

I'm not sure if you still can get Novavax as it may be for an older strain. I've heard of people getting both Pfizer and Moderna at NHS appointments this month (in different parts of the country).

I had Moderna last week too

What I meant was (perhaps I misread the original question) they don't say 'the NhS is going to use Pfizer but privately you can have Moderna' etc. It's down to finances and availability for the NHS I believe.