UK cuts booking time for Covid booster vaccines by a month

London: The UK's health service on Saturday announced a one-month slash in booking times for a top-up COVID-19 vaccine shot, inviting those aged 50 and over to book their booster jabs after a five-month gap from their second dose.

From Monday, the National Health Service (NHS) National Booking System will allow people to pre-book their booster appointment a month before they are eligible.

Everyone aged over 50 and all those classified as most at risk from COVID-19 should qualify for a booster six months after their second dose. Currently, they can only book an appointment at the six-month mark.

From next week, they will be able to book their appointment after five months, which means that someone could pre-book their jab for the day they reach the six-month milestone, rather than waiting days or weeks for a convenient appointment. It is expected to benefit millions of eligible people.

COVID-19 vaccines are the best way to protect yourself and your family ahead of a challenging winter and this change to the booking system will make it as easy as possible for people to book their booster jabs, said UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid.

This will accelerate the booster programme, ensure the NHS is able to vaccinate people as quickly as possible, and importantly help more people maintain protection against COVID-19 as we know immunity will dip over time. Please do not delay come and get the jab to keep the virus at bay, he said.

More than 9 million people have already received their top-up vaccines in England, intended to extend the protection from their first two doses over the winter months.

The latest change to the booking system will further speed up the booster vaccine rollout.

The COVID-19 booster programme is making great progress thank you to the NHS and everybody who has come forward so far to secure vital protection ahead of the winter," said UK Vaccines Minister Maggie Throup, as she called on eligible categories to book their jabs.- The colder weather traditionally leads to increased transmission of viruses. Vaccines are found to give high levels of protection but immunity reduces over time, particularly for older adults and at-risk groups, therefore the NHS message is that it is vital that vulnerable people come forward to get their COVID-19 booster vaccine to top-up their defences and protect themselves this winter.