Covid booster vaccines are expected to become available for the UK public to buy for the first time after health officials supported the proposal.
Pharmacists and private clinics will be allowed to offer jabs for sale on the high street, as they do with the flu vaccine.
The declaration by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) that it supports the concept comes after scientists backed the move amid concerns over a new wave of the virus, which could worsen in autumn and winter.
A UKHSA spokesperson told the Times: “We have spoken to manufacturers we’re in contract with and made it clear we won’t prevent them initiating a private market for Covid-19 vaccines, rather we’d welcome such an innovation in the UK.
In March Moderna told Reuters that it expected to price its Covid vaccine at about $130 (£102), while Pfizer last year suggested $110 to $130 a dose.
Prof Adam Finn, of the University of Bristol and a member of the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), said Covid jabs should be available commercially.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
Covid booster vaccines are expected to become available for the UK public to buy for the first time after health officials supported the proposal.
Pharmacists and private clinics will be allowed to offer jabs for sale on the high street, as they do with the flu vaccine.
The declaration by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) that it supports the concept comes after scientists backed the move amid concerns over a new wave of the virus, which could worsen in autumn and winter.
A UKHSA spokesperson told the Times: “We have spoken to manufacturers we’re in contract with and made it clear we won’t prevent them initiating a private market for Covid-19 vaccines, rather we’d welcome such an innovation in the UK.
In March Moderna told Reuters that it expected to price its Covid vaccine at about $130 (£102), while Pfizer last year suggested $110 to $130 a dose.
Prof Adam Finn, of the University of Bristol and a member of the UK’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI), said Covid jabs should be available commercially.
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