Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Friday, Oct 03, 2025

Booster Dose Protects Adults Above 65 Against Omicron Infections: UK Study

Booster Dose Protects Adults Above 65 Against Omicron Infections: UK Study

The UK Health Security Agency analysis showed that around three months after the third jab, protection against hospitalisation among those aged 65 and over remains at about 90 per cent.

A third top-up booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine provides high levels of protection against severe disease from the Omicron variant among older adults, a latest UK study concluded on Saturday.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) analysis showed that around three months after the third jab, protection against hospitalisation among those aged 65 and over remains at about 90 per cent.

Whilst with a booster shot, the duration of protection against severe disease remains high, protection against mild symptomatic infection is more short-lived and drops to around 30 per cent by about three months.

The UKHSA study examined booster shots in those aged over 65, who were among the first to be eligible when the UK's booster vaccination rollout began in mid-September 2021.

The latest findings also show that protection from getting severe infection from the Omicron variant of COVID-19 after the first two doses wanes within months.

"With just two vaccine doses, protection against severe infection drops to around 70 per cent after three months and to 50 per cent after six months," the study noted.

The UK's Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said it has taken this latest evidence into account in its ongoing review of the booster programme and decided against the need for a fourth booster dose rollout at this stage.

"The current data shows the booster dose is continuing to provide high levels of protection against severe infections, even for the most vulnerable older age groups. For this reason, the committee has concluded there is no immediate need to introduce a second booster dose, though this will continue to be reviewed," said Professor Wei Shen Lim, the JCVI's chair of COVID-19 immunisation.

"The data is highly encouraging and emphasises the value of a booster jab. With Omicron continuing to spread widely, I encourage everyone to come forward for their booster dose, or if unvaccinated, for their first two doses, to increase their protection against serious illness," he said.

The JCVI has concluded that there is no immediate need to introduce a fourth jab to the most vulnerable groups such as care home residents and those aged over 80 and that priority should continue to be given to rolling out the first booster shots to all age groups.

However, extremely vulnerable patients with impaired immune systems are still advised to administer the fourth shot to get fully vaccinated.

More than 35 million boosters and third doses have now been administered across the UK, with the government's "Get Boosted Now" campaign at the end of last year to tackle the surge in coronavirus cases driven by the Omicron variant.

It comes at a time when the UK's daily infections rate continues to remain high, with another 178,250 cases being reported on Friday.

Hospitalisations, which have remained relatively low, have also started to rise among the vulnerable age groups.

As a result, the widespread staff absences due to self-isolation have caused severe pressures on the country's National Health Service (NHS), with Army personnel being drafted in for support in some regions.

"I think we have to be honest when we look at the NHS and say it will be a rocky few weeks ahead," said UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid.

About 4 per cent of hospital staff in England - nearly 36,000 - were off work for reasons related to COVID-19 during the week ending January 2. When other sickness absence is added, it brings the total to 9 per cent - nearly double what would normally be seen at this time of the year.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×