As of Monday, England will propose a fourth dose of the coronavirus vaccine to people over 75 years of age and to immunosuppressed people over 12 years of age, the public health service (NHS) reported this Sunday.
In total, nearly five million people will be able to receive the vaccine and 600,000 will be encouraged to make an appointment this week to get vaccinated, according to the NHS.
“After the massive success of the (vaccination) deployment so far, we are offering this spring to those over 75 and the most vulnerable a booster dose to complete their protection against this virus,” Health Minister Sajid Javid said in a statement.
In the United Kingdom, each of its four nations (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) decides its health policy.
In England, adults eligible for the fourth dose will receive either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. Teenagers aged 12 to 18 will receive only Pfizer's.
The government is preparing “for the fourth dose because we will need it,” said British Prime Minister Boris Johnson during the Conservative Party congress on Saturday in Blackpool, in the north of England.
The United Kingdom has been hit hard by the pandemic, with more than 163,000 dead.
Recently, the number of people infected increased by the BA.2 omicron subvariant and Scotland reached record levels of pollution, according to the National Institute of Statistics (ONS).
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