UK to announce COVID booster shots for under 40 s

LONDON, Nov 29, Reuters -- Britain is set to unveil new guidance on extending COVID 19 booster shots to the under 40 s on Monday in light of the rapid rise in cases of the variant of concern Omicron, which the government expects to spread further.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has restricted travel to southern Africa, tightened testing rules, and made mask-wear compulsory in shops and on transport in response to Omicron.

He asked the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation to review boosters for under 40 s, as well as look at reducing the gap between second doses and boosters.

I hope it will come later today, junior health minister Edward Argar told Sky News he did not know their decision.

I don't think it's been delivered formally, but we'd expect that within the coming hours. Ministers want to increase the offer of booster jabs, saying that even if vaccines prove less effective against Omicron, they should still offer better protection against it and reduce the number of hospitalisations and deaths.

The UK Health Security Agency said on Sunday it had identified a third confirmed case of Omicron, which scientists say has doubled the number of mutations to the spike protein as the currently dominant Delta variant.

I would expect that to rise. We don't know by what speed or by what numbers, so we're trying to slow it down. But we can't stop it, Argar said.

We're trying to give ourselves time to understand how it works and how it interacts with the vaccine. Prime Minister Johnson said the restrictions would be reviewed in three weeks. Asked if the rules could be tightened before then, Argar said it's not something I'm anticipating.