Plans for an autumn Covid booster jab programme

Plans for an autumn Covid booster jab programme.

Plans for an autumn Covid booster jab programme will be set out in the next few weeks, the health secretary Matt Hancock tells BBC Breakfast.

Ministers have not yet decided whether or not to take a ‘mix or match’ approach to giving out third doses.

Work is under way to decide who should get a third boost of the jab, and which version they should be given, with a decision due to be announced in the coming weeks.

The NHS has already been told to ensure it is ready to administer millions more vaccines over the autumn.

Boris Johnson said on Monday: “I think what the scientists are saying is that things like flu will come back this winter, we may have a rough winter for all sorts of reasons, and obviously there are big pressures on the NHS.

“All the more reason to reduce the number of Covid cases now, give the NHS the breathing space it needs to get on with dealing with all those other pressures, and we are certainly going to be putting in the investment to make sure that they can.”

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There are concerns though that GPs are too busy to administer booster jabs without extra support.

The head of the Royal College has warned the pressures on GPs maybe too much, as ministers promise rollout plans within weeks.

NHS staff at GP surgeries are facing unprecedented abuse and aggression from patients, while stressed doctors are increasingly suffering from mental illness, because of an appointments system “in meltdown”, family doctors’ leaders have revealed.

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