UK Advises mRNA and Protein Based COVID-19 Vaccines for Spring 2024

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) today announced its advice to the U.K. Government for the COVID-19 vaccine programme in spring 2024.

Similar to recent campaigns, the JCVI's advice issued on February 7, 2024, is to offer an updated COVID-19 vaccine to those at high risk of serious disease and who are, therefore, most likely to benefit from vaccination.

JCVI advises the following groups be offered vaccination this spring:

• Adults aged 75 years and over. COVID-19 vaccine uptake for the 2023 spring program for those 75 years and over was 67.5%.
• Residents in a care home for older adults.
• Individuals aged six months and over who are immunosuppressed. This follows updated advice in April 2023 on COVID-19 vaccination of children aged six months to 4 years in a clinical risk group.

Professor Wei Shen Lim, Chair of COVID-19 immunization on the JCVI, said in a press release, "The COVID-19 spring program will continue to focus on those at greatest risk of getting seriously ill, who will benefit the most from a further vaccine dose."

"It is important that everyone eligible takes up the offer this spring."

Utilizing a deployment cost of £25 per vaccine, the non-standard cost-effectiveness assessment for booster vaccination in spring 2024 indicated that vaccination was likely cost-effective when offered to most people over 65 within the assumptions describing the most plausible projected scenario.

In addition to mRNA vaccines, Novavax Matrix-M adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine (Nuvaxovid) and HIPRA bivalent COVID-19 vaccine (Bimervax) may be used as a booster dose for certain persons in 2024.

As of February 8, 2024, 13 COVID-19 vaccines have been granted Emergency Use Listing by the World Health Organization. Recent additions include SKYCovione™ and CORBEVAX®.