This autumn’s Covid booster campaign will begin on September 12 and will use the new Moderna bivalent jab, NHS England has said.

In a letter to community pharmacies, GP surgeries and other stakeholders yesterday (August 18), NHSE’s deputy Covid-19 vaccination lead Nikita Kanani and national vaccinations director Steve Russell said the Government had accepted final advice from the JCVI, paving the way for the service to start. 

The advice states that a booster vaccine should be offered to groups including care home residents and staff, frontline health and care workers, adults over 50 and people in clinical risk groups as set out in the Green Book.

The new bivalent jab, which protects against both omicron and the original 2020 coronavirus strain, will be the sole product used in the booster campaign. NHSE said this “promotes simplicity and is therefore desirable”.

Vaccinations in care homes will begin from September 5, while the campaign will be formally launched a week later.

The national booking service will also open on September 5 and will be available to over-75s and health and care workers in the first instance, with other groups added later. 

“We expect all sites to be vaccinating at full operational capacity from September 19,” said NHSE.

NSHE said: “Systems should maximise opportunities to co=promote and co-administer vaccinations where possible and clinically advised (e.g. Covid-19. Flu and pneumococcal), especially where this improves patient experience and uptake, but this should not unduly delay administration of either jab.”

The health body told vaccine providers: “We are very grateful for your continued leadership and support to this programme, which together with the rest of our winter plan will help ensure we are in the strongest possible position as we head into winter.

“We will provide further operational guidance to systems as appropriate.”