Booster Shots for Those Over 50 in the UK... US Prepares for Children's Vaccination

UK to Administer Booster Shots to 30 Million from Next Week
Pfizer to Submit Clinical Data for Ages 5-11 This Month

Sajid Javid, UK Secretary of Health and Social Care
Photo by Reuters Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporters Hyunwoo Lee and Hyunui Cho] Leading countries in vaccination have responded to COVID-19 through booster shots (additional vaccinations) and vaccinations for children and adolescents. This is due to the waning effectiveness of vaccines over time and the rapid increase in confirmed cases among children and adolescents caused by the spread of variant viruses.

The UK, which was the first country in the world to start vaccinations, will begin administering COVID-19 vaccine booster shots to those aged 50 and over starting next week. Sajid Javid, the UK Secretary of State for Health, announced on the 14th (local time), "We have accepted the recommendation of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), a government advisory panel."

The vaccination targets are those aged 50 and over who are six months past their second dose, people with underlying health conditions, and healthcare workers. The BBC reported, "It is estimated that about 30 million people will be eligible for additional vaccinations."

The committee recommended using the Pfizer vaccine as the booster shot. It can be substituted with a half dose of Moderna, or if mRNA vaccines like Pfizer or Moderna cannot be administered for medical reasons, the AstraZeneca (AZ) vaccine can be used.

Nadhim Zahawi, the UK Minister for COVID Vaccine Deployment, said in an interview with the BBC, "The booster shot will be the final puzzle piece to transition the COVID-19 virus from a pandemic to an endemic."

After declaring 'With COVID' and withdrawing the introduction of vaccine passports, the UK plans to respond to COVID-19 through booster shots and vaccinations for children aged 12 to 15. Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a COVID-19 press conference that day and said, "Thanks to vaccinations, I hope the UK will become one of the freest and most economically open societies in Europe."

However, if the COVID-19 situation worsens to the point that the healthcare system cannot cope, measures such as mandatory mask-wearing, vaccine passports, and remote work will be reintroduced under 'Plan B.' Prime Minister Johnson said, "Plan B will only be implemented if various indicators suggest that the National Health Service (NHS) is at risk of being overwhelmed."

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

The United States, which will begin nationwide booster shot vaccinations on the 20th, is expected to start vaccinating children under 12 in earnest from the end of the year.

Albert Bourla, CEO of Pfizer, said at the US Health Research Forum that "by the end of this month, we expect to submit clinical trial data for vaccinations targeting children aged 5 to 11 to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)," and "clinical trial data for infants aged 6 months to under 5 years will be released by the end of next month."

With in-person classes for the fall semester starting in earnest this month, concerns about group infections among children under 12, who were not previously eligible for vaccination, are increasing. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the proportion of severe cases among children under 12 in the US last month was 2.4%. It is analyzed that the number of child patients continues to increase due to the spread of the Delta variant.

US health authorities plan to promptly review Pfizer's clinical data for children and decide on emergency use authorization. Peter Marks, director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, stated publicly on the 23rd of last month, "We will move as quickly as possible once pharmaceutical companies submit the data."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.