OVER-75s will get a fourth Covid jab within weeks as ministers prepare to relax self-isolation rules.
Other vulnerable Brits with immuno-suppressant conditions will also be offered another booster vaccination.
1
Six months have passed since many had their third shot last Autumn.
Sources told The Times future vaccination programmes will operate like annual flu jabs, targeting the elderly and vulnerable.
It is only expected to step up if a dangerous new variant emerges.
The government will also retain some monitoring systems to track Covid and contingency measures to be stood up quickly if needed.
They include increasing testing and quickly developing vaccines.
It comes ahead of Boris Johnson announcing a bonfire of Covid rules tomorrow.
Most read in Health News
The Prime Minister will say anyone testing positive for the virus will not legally have to isolate. It is reported the new rule could take effect from as soon as Thursday.
He will repeal all pandemic regulations that restrict public freedoms in England as part of his Living With Covid plan.
Ministers said future variants are expected to be similar to Omicron in terms of being milder than early mutations.
Mr Johnson said ahead of his announcement: “Covid will not suddenly disappear, and we need to learn to live with this virus and continue to protect ourselves without restricting our freedoms.
“We’ve built up strong protections against this virus over the past two years through the vaccine rollouts, tests, new treatments, and the best scientific understanding of what this virus can do.
“Thanks to our successful vaccination programme and the sheer magnitude of people who have come forward to be jabbed, we are now in a position to set out our plan for living with Covid this week.”
Local authorities will be required to manage outbreaks with pre-existing public health powers, as they would with other diseases.
Downing Street said pharmaceutical interventions will “continue to be our first line of defence”, with the vaccine programme remaining “open to anyone who has not yet come forward”.
But No 10 appeared to keep the door open for state-funded infection sampling remaining in place.
Officials said Monday’s plan will maintain “resilience against future variants with ongoing surveillance capabilities”.
It comes after senior statistician Sir David Spiegelhalter argued that some form of the Office for National Statistics’ coronavirus study should remain in place.
Source: Sun
