The COVID booster jabs rollout has been extended to all adults aged 40 and over from today, it has been announced.

All adults over the age of 40 should be offered a third jab six months after their second dose, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has said.

It comes after a recommendation by the JCVI and results from the first real-world study by the UK Health Security Agency WHICH shows that two weeks after receiving a booster dose, protection against symptomatic infection for adults aged 50 and over was 93.1% in those who had an AstraZeneca dose, and 94% for Pfizer.

The JCVI, the independent expert advisory committee that advises ministers on immunisation, has also announced that it will be advising that all 16 and 17 year olds have a second dose of the Pfizer vaccine.

Previously, only those in this age group considered to be in an “at-risk” group were eligible.

Second doses for 16 and 17 year olds should be given at least 12 weeks after initial jabs, the JCVI suggests.

The decision to advise the second dose is based on a review of the latest evidence of the benefits of the vaccine programme, compared to the risks of any side effects, they add.

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The JCVI said people should be offered the Pfizer or Moderna jab as a booster, irrespective of which vaccine they had initially.

The body had previously advised booster vaccinations for all adults aged 50 years and over and those at greater risk from COVID-19.

They add that, following two doses of the vaccine, as yet, there is no “robust evidence of a decline in protection against severe COVID-19 (hospitalisations and deaths) in those aged under 40 years”.

So far, some 12.6 million people have had a third COVID-19 jab and deputy chief medical officer Jonathan Van-Tam said told a Downing Street news briefing that the UK is moving at “considerable pace” with its booster programme.

The JCVI says that they will continue to closely review all available data to develop further advice in due course.

Professor Wei Shen Lim, chair of COVID-19 immunisation at the JCVI, said: “Booster vaccine doses in more vulnerable adults, and second vaccine doses in 16 – 17 year olds are important ways to increase our protection against COVID-19 infection and severe disease. These vaccinations will also help extend our protection into 2022.

“If you are eligible, please make sure to have these vaccines and keep yourselves protected as we head into winter.”

The latest vaccine announcement comes as a new study highlighted how boosters can significantly increase people’s protection against getting a symptomatic case of coronavirus – with protection against more severe disease and death is expected to be even higher.

Dr June Raine, chief executive of the MHRA, said: “Our safety monitoring to date shows that COVID-19 vaccines continue to have a positive safety profile for the majority of people. The vast majority of reactions which are reported relate to expected side-effects such as injection site reactions and flu-like symptoms, as was seen in our initial assessment.

“Our proactive monitoring of the safety of booster doses does not raise any new concerns.

“We also welcome the recommendation for 16 to 17-year-olds to come forward and have a second dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine. People can be reassured that when we gave approval for the Pfizer vaccine for those 16 years and over in December 2020, we had thoroughly reviewed all the clinical trial data.

“We have continued to carefully scrutinise all the data we have available to us and our robust surveillance programme includes monitoring all suspected reactions for adolescents as well as adults. We ensure all suspected reports are carefully followed up.”

Earlier on Monday, Mr Dowden said the vaccination programme offers the best assurance that further COVID-19 restrictions will not be needed over Christmas.

The Conservative Party chairman told Sky News: “It is in our hands. If you get the booster when the call comes that is the biggest wall of defence that we have against COVID.

“I am confident that if we stick the course, people take the boosters when they are asked to do so, that vaccine wall will hold up and we will be able to have a decent Christmas this year.

“There are no plans to stop Christmas happening. The huge difference this time is the vaccine.”

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