Third vaccine shot for people with severely weakened immune systems announced

2 mins read

Thursday 2 September 2021

Tags: JCVI, coronavirus, vaccination, covid

People aged 12 and over with severely weakened immune systems will be offered a third Covid vaccine shot in the hope of giving extra protection to those most vulnerable to the virus.

The Joint Committee for Vaccine and Immunisation (JCVI) announced last night that those who are eligible will be contacted soon to be invited for their third dose. The exact timing will be decided by the patient’s GP or consultant to maximize the chances of mounting a good immune response.

Among those eligible, according to the committee, are people aged 12 and over who have leukaemia, aggressive lymphomas, immunosuppression due to HIV/Aids; those who have had recent stem cell transplants, those who are having or had recent immunosuppressive therapies, and others on high doses of steroids.

Following research into the different types of vaccine, 12-17 year olds will be offered the Pfizer vaccine and those 18 and above will be offered the NIH/Moderna vaccine.

The third vaccine shot, which will be offered to an estimated 400-500 million people, is not the same as the autumn booster programme currently being considered by the JCVI.

The committee made no further announcements about whether all children over 12 should be offered the Covid-19 vaccine.

Meanwhile, we know that some eligible children are still struggling to get their first vaccine – here’s what you can do if you’re affected.

Visit our Covid vaccine FAQs page for more about the vaccination programme.