U.K. Covid-19 booster jab plans 'to be made public in next few weeks'

Plans for a U.K. autumn booster jab programme for Covid-19 vaccinations will be made public in the next few weeks.

Senior NHS leaders have been calling for clarity on how the booster rollout will work, insisting the planning must begin in now in order for it to be effective in curbing coronavirus and protecting the most vulnerable this winter.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock discussed the matter on Monday, insisting the public will be updated on the strategy soon, once data from ongoing trials has been collected.

"We are currently trialling which combinations of jabs are the most effective," Hancock told BBC Breakfast.

"In next few weeks, when we get the clinical data through on what's the most effective combinations to have... then we'll set out all the details for the booster programme for the autumn."

The Cov-Boost research is one of the ongoing trials awaiting results, and is testing different combinations of third doses in England.

Many Covid-19 restrictions remain in place across the U.K. due to concerns over the Delta variant of the virus, which is proving to be more transmissible and is accounting for the majority of new cases.

The U.K. government hopes that by extending the safety measures, most of the adult population will have received their first dose of vaccine by mid-July.

The average number of daily cases of coronavirus is currently rising in the UK, with 9,284 new cases confirmed on Sunday.

Health leaders have expressed their concerns over how long the immunity for the original Covid-19 vaccine will last, as well as whether children need to be vaccinated.

Booster plans have been proposed in a bid to protect the most vulnerable from becoming seriously ill with Covid-19 as temperatures drop this winter.

Government sources have told the BBC that new vaccines from Novavax and Valneva are awaiting approval from the U.K. medicines regulator in the fight to curb the spread of the virus.