COVID vaccine booster shots not needed for all, says Oxford scientist

COVID-19 vaccine booster shots are not necessary for all and should be given only to the vulnerable groups, said the scientist behind the making of Oxford dose adding that more and more vaccine doses should be given to nations in need.

Prof Dame Sarah Gilbert, the maker of the Oxford COVID-19 vaccine, addressed the conversation around booster vaccine doses and told the Daily Telegraph that some vulnerable groups would need boosters but immunity was “lasting well” in the majority of cases.

“We will look at each situation; the immunocompromised and elderly will receive boosters,” Gilbert said adding that she doesn’t think that everybody needs a booster dose as immunity is lasting well in most people.

The vaccinologist, however, highlighted that there is a need for the UK to send more and more COVID vaccine doses to poorer countries where only a fraction of the population is  vaccinated owing to a lack of vaccine doses.

Gilbert’s statement comes as the UK vaccine advisory body is due to give its final advice on boosters soon.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), UK’s advisory body on vaccination had earlier said that a third booster dose of COVID vaccine should be offered to people with severely weakened immune systems, which accounts for up to half a million people in the UK.

However, the health body is yet to announce if the shots should be offered widely, who should be offered and the eligibility criteria for the booster doses.

Meanwhile, UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid on Thursday said he was awaiting “final advice” from the JCVI but was “confident” a booster programme would start later this month.

The vaccine body has so far issued an interim advisory saying suggesting that more than 30 million people should receive a third dose, including all adults over 50. This advisory was issued in July 2021.