The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has published new advice recommending all adults aged 40- to 49-years-old be offered a COVID-19 booster six months after their second dose.

The JCVI has advised that adults in this age group should receive an mRNA booster, regardless of if they have previously received a different type of vaccine for the first and second doses.

This means that booster vaccination should be with either the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine or the Moderna vaccine.

The new advice follows the publication of the first data on booster vaccine effectiveness in the UK. This analysis, from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), demonstrates that individuals who receive a booster vaccine increase their protection against symptomatic COVID-19 to over 90%.

On top of this, protection against more severe disease is expected to be ‘even higher’, the UKHSA said in a statement.

At the same time, the JCVI has also advised that all 16- to 17-year-olds who are not in an at-risk group should be offered a second dose of the Pifzer/BioNTech vaccine.
This decision is based on a review of the latest evidence of the benefits of the vaccine programme compared to the risks of side effects.

Reports from outside the UK have found extremely rare adverse effects such as myocarditis have been reported more frequently after the second vaccine dose compared to the first vaccine dose.

However, the UKHSA said in a statement that in countries such Canada and the UK, which have a longer interval between the first and second doses, rates following the second dose are closer to the reporting rate after the first dose.

“Booster vaccine doses in more vulnerable adults, and second vaccine doses in 16- to 17-year-olds are important ways to increase our protection against COVID-19 infection and severe disease. These vaccinations will also help extend our protection into 2022,” said professor Wei Shen Lim, chair, COVID-19 immunisation, JCVI.

“If you are eligible, please make sure to have these vaccines and keep yourselves protected as we head into winter,” he added.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) and the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) have published an update to their guidelines on managing the long-term effects of COVID-19.

This includes an update to the original list of common symptoms to now include hair loss, nasal congestion, post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, weight loss, vomiting, visual disturbances and mobility impairment.

Other commonly reported symptoms include respiratory symptoms (breathlessness and cough), cardiovascular symptoms as well as generalised symptoms such as fatigue, fever and pain.

Additional new recommendations include providing people with information on COVID-19 vaccines and encouraging them to follow current government guidance for vaccination.