New Autumn Covid-19 Booster Vaccination Initiative Announced

The Department of Health (DoH) has announced a new autumn Covid-19 booster vaccination initiative, which will offered to those at high risk of serious disease and who are most likely to benefit from vaccination, it has been announced.

The following groups will be offered a COVID-19 booster vaccine in Northern Ireland this autumn:

• residents in a care home for older adults

• all adults aged 65 years and over

• persons aged 6 months to 64 years in a clinical risk group, as laid out in the Immunisation Green Book,

• frontline health and social care workers

Health Minister Mike Nesbitt said: "Vaccination has been particularly effective at reducing the risk of serious illness, hospitalisation and death for those with underlying health conditions and for older people.

"As we enter this fourth autumn season of our Covid-19 booster programme, we know that vaccination provides vital protection for these groups. It also provides protection for workers we rely on to provide crucial healthcare to our population across frontline health and social care services. That is why we will offer the vaccination to this cohort in this Autumn’s Covid-19 programme, in addition to the groups recommended in advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JVCI).

"I would urge everyone who falls into an eligible group to take up the offer of free vaccination for Covid-19 when the programme commences this Autumn."

Commenting on the announcement, Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sir Michael McBride said: "It remains as important as ever that those considered most at risk take up the offer of vaccination for Covid-19. I would encourage all who are eligible for this vaccine, and indeed those eligible for the influenza vaccine, to do so when they are invited."

The Public Health Agency will confirm details on how and when eligible people can access the autumn booster vaccination programme in the coming weeks.