Covid-19 Booster Shots to reportedly be offered in early Autumn

Planning for the rollout of potential vaccine boosters is still at a preliminary stage, and chief medical officer Tony Holohan advised last week these are “preliminary proposals only”, according to the Irish Times,  which will be updated as more information becomes available in the coming months.

Ireland is one of many countries preparing to start giving some people a third vaccine shot in the autumn and winter.

Reports suggest that at least 1 million people will be targeted in the programme’s first push, however, many details still have to be worked out, from advice on mixing vaccines, the space between second and booster doses, and precise definitions of exactly who will be targeted.

The WHO however, has urged rich countries to hold off on booster campaigns until at least the end of September, in a bid to get more of the developing world vaccinated. Its Special Envoy on COVID-19, Dr David Nabarro also said he didn’t believe there was enough evidence to suggest booster shots were necessary.

“If rich countries are just buying all the vaccine and storing it up for boosters this winter, that actually is taking the vaccine away from the poor countries. The real thing that we want rich countries to do is just not to do booster shots – not now and not for a few months – until poor countries have been able to get a vaccine,” he said.

“And in our view, there’s no evidence that booster shots are necessary.”