Booster jabs and Vaccine donations

A number of constituents have contacted me about donating vaccines and booster jabs, and so I wanted to post an update here.

I would firstly like constituents to be assured that anyone accepting a booster jab, if they wish to do so, would not be having a jab at the direct expense of a vaccine going to someone in a developing country.

The UK is at the forefront of, and one of the largest donors to, the international response to the pandemic. UK support extends to assisting the world's poorest nations receive the vaccines they need. The Government’s commitment will be amongst the largest donations to the international COVAX facility.

The UK is helping to support the rollout of 1.8 billion vaccines doses by early 2022 for up to 92 developing countries. The UK’s G7 Presidency has also championed equitable access to vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics and the UK will share 100 million doses within the next year (30 million by the end of 2021) as part of a G7 commitment to provide an additional one billion doses.  It is because of the success of our domestic vaccine programme that we are in a position to be so generous in helping others.

While it is good news that the Government has already offered a vaccine to every adult in the UK ahead of schedule, the Government has to factor in the possibility of future vaccine-resistant strains being detected and potential disruptions to our supply, when looking at the number of vaccine doses to keep in stock.  

The Prime Minister has recently confirmed that booster jabs will be rolled-out over the Autumn, following scientific evidence showing that booster jabs provide a good immune response.  Our vaccine rollout has been phenomenal and it is vital that we do everything possible to prolong the protection vaccines offer. The NHS will be contacting people directly to arrange a booster and I would urge everyone eligible to get their vaccine booster as soon as they can. The booster jab programme will give vulnerable people in our community the strongest possible protection against Covid-19 over the winter months.