Covid: All over-50s in NI to be offered booster vaccine

Everyone aged 50 and over in Northern Ireland will be offered a Covid booster vaccine this autumn to top up immunity and cut risks of serious illness.

Younger people at high risk from Covid, as well as health and social care staff, will also be offered the booster.

Updated vaccines have been developed to work better against newer variants.

Health Minister Robin Swann said delivering the vaccine programme would be a "major logistical operation".

The announcement comes following updated advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), which advises health departments in the four UK nations.

It says the booster should be offered to:

• health and social care staff

• everyone aged 50 and over

• carers who are over the age of 16

• people over 5 whose health puts them at greater risk, this includes pregnant women

• people over 5 who share a house with somebody with a weakened immune system

Mr Swann said the guidance meant health authorities could step up planning but did not provide details on the rollout or exactly when it is set to begin.

He said: "Vaccination is our chief defence against COVID-19 and I would again urge everyone who is eligible for a booster as part of our autumn programme to come forward as soon as it becomes available."

Mr Swann said he is confident the health service will be able to deliver the rollout "despite all the pressures our service continues to face".

"When we think back to where we were in 2020 before vaccines became available, we are reminded just how much we owe to all those who made our vaccine programme possible," he added.