Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Jul 24, 2025

Booster Dose Protects Adults Above 65 Against Omicron Infections: UK Study

Booster Dose Protects Adults Above 65 Against Omicron Infections: UK Study

The UK Health Security Agency analysis showed that around three months after the third jab, protection against hospitalisation among those aged 65 and over remains at about 90 per cent.

A third top-up booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine provides high levels of protection against severe disease from the Omicron variant among older adults, a latest UK study concluded on Saturday.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) analysis showed that around three months after the third jab, protection against hospitalisation among those aged 65 and over remains at about 90 per cent.

Whilst with a booster shot, the duration of protection against severe disease remains high, protection against mild symptomatic infection is more short-lived and drops to around 30 per cent by about three months.

The UKHSA study examined booster shots in those aged over 65, who were among the first to be eligible when the UK's booster vaccination rollout began in mid-September 2021.

The latest findings also show that protection from getting severe infection from the Omicron variant of COVID-19 after the first two doses wanes within months.

"With just two vaccine doses, protection against severe infection drops to around 70 per cent after three months and to 50 per cent after six months," the study noted.

The UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said it has taken this latest evidence into account in its ongoing review of the booster programme and decided against the need for a fourth booster dose rollout at this stage.

"The current data shows the booster dose is continuing to provide high levels of protection against severe infections, even for the most vulnerable older age groups. For this reason, the committee has concluded there is no immediate need to introduce a second booster dose, though this will continue to be reviewed," said Professor Wei Shen Lim, the JCVI's chair of COVID-19 immunisation.

"The data is highly encouraging and emphasises the value of a booster jab. With Omicron continuing to spread widely, I encourage everyone to come forward for their booster dose, or if unvaccinated, for their first two doses, to increase their protection against serious illness," he said.

The JCVI has concluded that there is no immediate need to introduce a fourth jab to the most vulnerable groups such as care home residents and those aged over 80 and that priority should continue to be given to rolling out the first booster shots to all age groups.

However, extremely vulnerable patients with impaired immune systems are still advised to administer the fourth shot to get fully vaccinated.

More than 35 million boosters and third doses have now been administered across the UK, with the government's "Get Boosted Now" campaign at the end of last year to tackle the surge in coronavirus cases driven by the Omicron variant.

It comes at a time when the UK's daily infections rate continues to remain high, with another 178,250 cases being reported on Friday.

Hospitalisations, which have remained relatively low, have also started to rise among the vulnerable age groups.

As a result, the widespread staff absences due to self-isolation have caused severe pressures on the country's National Health Service (NHS), with Army personnel being drafted in for support in some regions.

"I think we have to be honest when we look at the NHS and say it will be a rocky few weeks ahead," said UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid.

About 4 per cent of hospital staff in England - nearly 36,000 - were off work for reasons related to COVID-19 during the week ending January 2. When other sickness absence is added, it brings the total to 9 per cent - nearly double what would normally be seen at this time of the year.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
Trump Announces $550 Billion Japanese Investment and New Trade Agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
×