Ireland is in line with most other European countries in not offering an additional Covid-19 booster to younger age groups, a new report shows.
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said he had no plans to give people aged under 50 a further Covid-19 booster this winter. The Minister said there was “no advice nor any suggestion of any advice” that the age threshold would be lowered soon.
Currently, a second booster is being offered to over-50s and high-risk people aged over 12, while a third booster is being offered to over-65s, and people with a weak immune system. There have been calls for a second booster to be made available to younger age groups.
However, a review of public health measures in 21 other countries shows few are offering additional boosters to younger age cohorts and many are more restrictive in supplying boosters than Ireland.
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Only Austria and the Netherlands, which have recommended boosters for over-12s, and Czechia, which has recommended them for over-18s, are providing additional boosters more widely in their populations, according to the review by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa).
The review, which examined the measures the countries plan to use this winter to limit the impact of Covid-19 surges, was used to inform thinking for Ireland’s winter plan for the virus, published last week.
Hiqa says most countries are taking a “holistic” approach to their winter surge planning. Many require multiple criteria to be considered - such as the severity of disease associated with a new variant and health services capacity - when determining the threat posed by a Covid-19 surge.
Vaccination strategies for both Covid-19 and flu were found to be a significant component of winter surge planning.
Test and trace plans for some countries allow for different levels of testing depending on the situation, according to the review. “This includes both widespread testing and targeted testing and may depend on the transmissibility of the virus, the disease severity associated with the variant and healthcare usage at any given time.”
Other countries have planned for the potential reintroduction of face coverings in certain situations.
“With the winter season approaching, there is an increased risk of Covid-19 surges happening simultaneously with flu outbreaks,” said Hiqa’s deputy director of health technology assessment Shelley O’Neill. “Most countries in our review are planning for this. In Ireland we have already begun our winter Covid-19 booster and flu vaccine campaigns.”
Many countries are preparing to implement further public health measures in addition to the vaccination strategies, if needed, as the season unfolds, she noted.
