Yahoo Finance GPs offer Covid boosters to under-40s against NHS guidance
GPs have begun offering booster vaccines to patients under 40 against official NHS guidance.
People in their 30s who are not in high-risk groups in England are being sent text messages and emails by family doctors inviting them to book their top-up jab. Some have secured slots for appointments just 36 hours later. This contrasts sharply with the current policy of the NHS, which has not yet asked those under 40 to come forward and book their booster jabs.
Doctors say they are keen to accelerate the rollout as fears grow over the Omicron variant. But the move has prompted concerns over a postcode lottery because the national NHS booking system does not allow adults under 40 to schedule a booster shot.
Further confusion has arisen over evidence suggesting some patients under 40 have been able to get a jab by trying their luck at a walk-in Covid-19 vaccination site. Many are using social media platforms such as Twitter, Reddit and WhatsApp to share live information about which centres are offering booster jabs to younger adults.
At the same time, some people over 40 who are eligible for a booster vaccine have reported being turned away because it is not six months since their second dose – even though the NHS has cut the qualifying time from six months after a second dose to three.
Boris Johnson announced last week that every eligible adult in the UK should be offered a booster by the end of January to increase protection against the Omicron variant. The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said: “Booster vaccination eligibility should be expanded to include all adults aged 18 years to 39 years.”
However, since then the NHS national booking system has only been amended to allow people aged 40 and over and those in high-risk groups to book a booster jab appointment for three months after their second dose, instead of the original six months. Healthy adults aged between 18 and 39 cannot yet book their booster via the NHS national booking system.
Yet some people under 40 have this week received invitations from their GP surgery with a personalised link to a website where they have been able to secure a slot for their booster vaccine.
Some health professionals working at Covid-19 vaccine sites say inviting younger patients before a national announcement is made only helps protect their local population more quickly, especially amid concerns over the rapid spread of the Omicron variant. However, others have expressed frustration, saying it risks causing confusion and unequal access to the booster vaccines.
Ruth Rankine, director of primary care at the NHS Confederation, said: “While the NHS’s focus remains on offering boosters to eligible people aged over 40 before the national booking system opens up more widely next week, we are aware that some primary care sites have begun to offer boosters to eligible people aged under 40 where they have spare appointments that have not been filled by the current cohorts and where they have sufficient vaccine stock. The national guidance on the gap between doses is clear and that people should wait to be contacted by the NHS for their booster shots.”
Prof Martin Marshall, the chair of the Royal College of GPs, said vaccines were “our most important tool in protecting people from the virus”, adding, “We need to get as many jabs into as many arms as quickly as possible.”
“It’s important that at-risk groups are prioritised so people should wait to be contacted before trying to book their booster,” he said. “However, it’s possible that some regions will be going at a quicker pace than others for varying reasons to do with capacity and workload and GPs will use their judgment in the best interests of their patients and the wider public’s health.
“GPs and their teams are working incredibly hard to deliver the vaccination programme, as well as continuing to deliver essential care and services to patients, and we’d urge anyone who is offered the booster to have it.”
An NHS spokesperson said: “NHS sites are expected to vaccinate those most at risk from coronavirus first in line with JCVI guidance, which at present is people aged 40 and over, as well as those with health conditions and healthcare workers. The NHS is rapidly mobilising to ensure people are offered lifesaving protection as quickly and as safely as possible so when you are called it is strongly advised you to get your booster jab.”
