Covid-19 booster vaccination roll-out starts in Wales

The autumn Covid-19 booster roll-out has started in Wales as care home residents and staff become the first in line to get their next jab.

The vaccine has been made available to all those eligible from September 1 as the Welsh Government looks to keep Covid rates down for the coming winter. Care home residents, frontline health and social care workers and all those aged over 50, will be called for a vaccination by their health boards.

Invitations will be issued in order of vulnerability, with everyone eligible being offered a booster vaccine by the end of the year. The vaccines will be administered in a variety of settings including GP surgeries and vaccination centres. You can get more health news and other story updates straight to your inbox by subscribing to our newsletters here.

UK Covid infections have fallen to their lowest level in two months and rates have dropped dramatically in Wales. Read more here. The Welsh Government said the vaccine would help support the immunity of all those who were at higher risk from Covid-19, improve their protection against severe illness, while also helping to support the NHS during winter 2022-23. The jabs will be offered in line with advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). Those categories who will receive a single dose of Covid-19 vaccine booster are:

Residents in a care home for older adults and staff working in care homes for older adults
Frontline health and social care workers
All adults aged 50 years and over
People aged five to 49 years who are in a clinical risk group
People aged five to 49 years who are household contacts of people who are immunosuppressed
People aged 16 to 49 who are carers.

All eligible adults aged 18 and over will initially be offered the Moderna vaccine which protects from both the original strain of coronavirus and the Omicron variant, as set out in the official JCVI guidance. Those eligible aged under 18 will be offered the Pfizer vaccine. Both vaccines will be offered at least three months after a previous dose.

Alongside the Covid boosters, all those eligible for a flu vaccine will be offered it before the end of the year. That means around 1.5 million people will be eligible for a free flu vaccine too.

Health Minister Eluned Morgan said: "Our winter respiratory vaccination programme will help protect the most vulnerable in our communities from flu and coronavirus this winter. The Covid-19 booster campaign will start with those in care homes, alongside those working within the NHS and the social care sector.

“Vaccines have had an enormous impact on the course of the pandemic - they have saved countless lives and given us the freedom and confidence to restart our lives. I want to thank everyone working in the NHS and other organisations who will once again lead efforts to protect the most vulnerable through vaccination."

All eligible adults will be invited for their autumn Covid-19 booster via letter and text message from their health board by December. People are being asked not to contact their GPs about their invite so GPs can continue to focus on looking after people’s health.