Government approves plans for covid jabs to go on sale ahead of move that will see 12million people lose privilege of free NHS vaccines over winter
- Tens of millions ineligible for NHS vaccines may be able to buy them next year
- However, private booster shots could be far more expensive than flu jabs
Covid booster vaccines will soon be available for the public to buy after private jabs were greenlit by health officials.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) indicated it was happy to allow paid-for shots in another step towards normalising the disease.
Tens of millions of people who aren’t eligible for jabs on the NHS will soon be able to purchase them themselves on the High Street, with interest already shown by some pharmacists and clinics.
Until now, Covid vaccinations have only been available to select groups through the health service free at the point of delivery.
Private shots could be for sale by next spring, but not before this year’s autumn booster push.
Private Covid booster vaccines could soon be available as early as next year after the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) indicated that it was happy to allow them
Unlike previous doses with come from vials, paid-for jabs could be administered using ready filled syringes – a move which would take time to roll out, the Times reported.
Around 12 million less people will qualify for a booster jab on the NHS this autumn, after the minimum age was raised from 50 to 64, leaving a potential gap to be filled by private vaccines.
Officials have warned, however, that private shots would likely cost more than the flu jab, which is around £15 to £20.
A UKHSA spokesperson said that it would welcome the development, and that the ball is in the manufacturers’ court to make them available.
Moderna, a major vaccine supplier, said it was working on jabs for the private sector, while maintaining that supporting the NHS was its priority.
Its chief executive Stéphane Bancel said that it expects to sell private vaccines for around $130 in the US, with low demand contributing to the high price.
Professor Adam Finn of Bristol University said in a personal capacity that paid-for vaccines would provide an option for those not covered by the current scheme but want the added protection.
Interest from pharmacy leaders and travel vaccine providers is spurred by the NHS now paying them less to administer shots.
Data from late July shows that Covid rates are rising, with hospitalisation increasing to 1.97 per 100,000 from 1.47 the previous week.
The most recent Covid data from July shows rates and hospitalisations are rising, but they remain well below peak levels
This is still a long way from the peak of January 2021 when hospital admissions reached around 36 per 100,000.
However Professor Lawrence Young of the University of Warwick said that the concern with private jabs was that they would be unaffordable for many people.
He added that younger age groups already accept that shots will be restricted to those that most need them, in the same way that flu jabs are.
But he criticised the decision to cut the number of people eligible for free boosters, saying that it would increase infections requiring treatment amid waning immunity.
A spokesperson for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency said that there would be no need for covid vaccines that are already used to be approved again for private use.
Philippa Harvey, the director of the Covid vaccine unit at UKHSA, said that even though they currently aren’t available for purchase, there was no blanket ban on vaccines being sold privately in the UK.
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