Covid vaccine for under 75

IOMGran

I have a minor sore arm after a flu or covid vaccination, once of twice a year. I have to wear a seat belt every time I travel in a car. I actually don't really care if you vaccinate or wear a seat belt. I want choice for those of us who want to use this prophylactic.

I'm sorry you don't care. I think it's very important to wear a seat belt.

Best of luck with your health going forward.

Since I heard who would (and wouldn't) get the covid jab this year I have said I think it's a cost cutting exercise. They didn't get rid of enough pensioners taking away the Winter Fuel Payment so maybe hope to get rid of a few more from covid. I know we have to live with it but it already spreading and more people are in hospital at the moment. Like another poster I've just been diagnosed with COPD (early emphesma) so the last thing I want is a respiratory disease. I've had a flu jab every year since 1974 when I started work (they gave us them) and until old enough to be entitled to a free one used to pay at the chemist. Thankfully I've never had flu. I would pay for a covid jab but hard to find somewhere round here to get one and they seem to be making money out of it. I think it's very short sighted and if we have a bad year it will cost the NHS more. I think it's awful that medical staff and carers won't get it either. I would just hope that people who do feel ill stay in... so they don't spread it but there are always some who don't care and happily go spreading it about.
By the way my Cousin is in Oz. Covid has been bad there this Winter and often it's a forecast of what we get.

Well said Trisha. We're bad enough in UK but now feel sorry for Americans with Kennedy in charge of health

Not only have they upped the age, but have removed vulnerable groups like those with COPD and diabetes from the eligible list.

Recent information on changes to the US COVID booster scheme.

‘ Moving forward, the FDA will adopt the following Covid-19 vaccination regulatory framework: On the basis of immunogenicity — proof that a vaccine can generate antibody titers in people — the FDA anticipates that it will be able to make favorable benefit–risk findings for adults over the age of 65 years and for all persons above the age of 6 months with one or more risk factors that put them at high risk for severe Covid-19 outcomes, as described by the CDC (Figure 2). For all healthy persons — those with no risk factors for severe Covid-19 — between the ages of 6 months and 64 years, the FDA anticipates the need for randomized, controlled trial data evaluating clinical outcomes before Biologics License Applications can be granted.’

In sum, the UK is now an outlier when it comes to an annual COVID Booster jabs for the over 65s (compared to France; Canada and the US).

Edit: Germany and Ireland are now recommending an annual COVID Booster jab for the over 60s.

I have a minor sore arm after a flu or covid vaccination, once of twice a year. I have to wear a seat belt every time I travel in a car. I actually don't really care if you vaccinate or wear a seat belt. I want choice for those of us who want to use this prophylactic.

IOMGran

StripeyGran

IOM
I had something very unpleasant a few weeks ago. Was it Covid? I don't know.
How can we just keep on and on with jabs?
Are we better to stick it out?
Really Im not sure.

You could say similar for wearing seat belts.

No I'm sorry that doesn't work. If I wear a seat belt I may " suffer" from a little digging in of the belt. A tiny problem. I will help myself and others.

If I continue to have vaccinations and boost and boost I may be causing problems.

PaynesGrey Thank you for the information. 👍

On whether to keep having vaccinations?

It comes back to one’s immune system being able to recognise a Covid infection as soon as it enters the body so that it can trigger an immune response and minimise the effects.

If we have developed immunity through past vaccination and/or infection then the immune system will have a better chance of reducing the effect of a new infection.

Contrast the time before we had a vaccination against Covid. The immune system recognised that something alien had entered the body but didn’t know where or how to direct a response. So it went into overdrive. That’s why people had cytokine storms and suffered multiple organ faliure.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytokine_storm

It's why biologics were being used in treating Covid patients in those early waves. They are powerful drugs which suppress the immune system preventing it from triggering a hyperinflammatory state. Anyone who suffers from RA, Crohn's, UC or other inflammatory conditions will know about those and how they work.

Our immune systems do weaken with age, are less able to recognise and fight infection, less able to recognise mutant blood cells produced by our bone marrow and why the risk of cancer increases with age.

So yes we do need to boost out immune systems whether through a healthy lifestyle and diet or through vaccinations for the very elderly or those immuno-compromised for some other reason.

Rosie51

^COVID-19 vaccines have limited to no effectiveness against infection, COVID-19 is relatively common and may manifest as a mild illness for most individuals. Consequently, many people who are hospitalised or who die during a period when SARS-CoV-2 is circulating in the community may have a concurrent SARS-CoV-2 infection that may not be the primary cause of their serious illness.^

From your post at 10.37 PaynesGrey my bolding. If the vaccines have limited to no protection against infection why are they being given at all? I may be being thick but it doesn't make sense to me.
I'm not eligible for a free booster and I'm not paying £100 for something that might provide no protection against Covid. I've had it 3 times, once absolutely symptomless, once moderately bad and once like a bad cold. It does feel very odd though to go from "you really must have a booster every six months" to "you really don't need any more vaccinations at all"

You need to read the whole thread and where I posted about there being already-procured stock for last year's programme.

Vaccines work by training the immune system to recognise infection, to mount an immune response and to minimise the effects of the infection. The vaccine cannot stop you catching Covid.

Built immunity whether through past vaccination or infection should still give people a good measure of protection from the Omicron strain.

JCVI consider that only those age 80 or older or otherwise immuno-compromised need that extra boost from a further vaccine - those most at risk of being hospitalised.

Calendargirl

When the Covid vaccine was being offered to the majority, many people (some here on GN) declared they wouldn’t be having it, they had already had 6……etc etc.

Now it’s being restricted, there is a huge outcry.

Everyone wants it.

🤔

Not me...I stopped at 3 and that eas 3 too many, they made me worst than the times I had covid!

StripeyGran

IOM
I had something very unpleasant a few weeks ago. Was it Covid? I don't know.
How can we just keep on and on with jabs?
Are we better to stick it out?
Really Im not sure.

You could say similar for wearing seat belts.

PaynesGrey

Indeed but there’s no age analysis in there. There was a similar spike in September 2024 which dropped away. It could have been student-driven.

Pagel is a mathematician. I’m more inclined to be guided by the chair of the sub committee of the JCVI who is a consultant respiratory physician and honorary professor of medicine (and his team) as well as longitudinal data about who is most vulnerable. That's the 80 and over demographic - 40% of whom did not bother to get vaccinated in Spring.

Now there’s an argument. Has the DHSC procured enough to vaccinate all of the the oldest demographic? If so, can the people a bit younger who would like to be vaccinated make use of what’s left?

That would be far too sensible.

Indeed but there’s no age analysis in there. There was a similar spike in September 2024 which dropped away. It could have been student-driven.

Pagel is a mathematician. I’m more inclined to be guided by the chair of the sub committee of the JCVI who is a consultant respiratory physician and honorary professor of medicine (and his team) as well as longitudinal data about who is most vulnerable. That's the 80 and over demographic - 40% of whom did not bother to get vaccinated in Spring.

Now there’s an argument. Has the DHSC procured enough to vaccinate all of the the oldest demographic? If so, can the people a bit younger who would like to be vaccinated make use of what’s left?

Skitterbug

Oh boy. You must be listening to Secretary Kennedy in the US. He's doing everything he can to make us all sick.

And yet Trump, who appointed an anti vacc’er in the role, has just had his flu and covid vaccines…

I had covid in July and ended up in hospital a week later for three. I thought I was dying! I still don’t remember much. So have the jab. Ours booked end of the month.

Oh boy. You must be listening to Secretary Kennedy in the US. He's doing everything he can to make us all sick.

COVID-19 vaccines have limited to no effectiveness against infection, COVID-19 is relatively common and may manifest as a mild illness for most individuals. Consequently, many people who are hospitalised or who die during a period when SARS-CoV-2 is circulating in the community may have a concurrent SARS-CoV-2 infection that may not be the primary cause of their serious illness.

From your post at 10.37 PaynesGrey my bolding. If the vaccines have limited to no protection against infection why are they being given at all? I may be being thick but it doesn't make sense to me.
I'm not eligible for a free booster and I'm not paying £100 for something that might provide no protection against Covid. I've had it 3 times, once absolutely symptomless, once moderately bad and once like a bad cold. It does feel very odd though to go from "you really must have a booster every six months" to "you really don't need any more vaccinations at all"

IOM
I had something very unpleasant a few weeks ago. Was it Covid? I don't know.
How can we just keep on and on with jabs?
Are we better to stick it out?
Really Im not sure.

For information, the JCVI use a monetary value for each year of healthy quality life.

QALY stands for Quality-Adjusted Life Year.
It’s a way of combining both:

How long someone lives, and

How good their health is during that time.

Each year of life is given a quality score between 0 and 1:

1.0 = perfect health

0.5 = health rated as “half as good” as perfect (e.g., serious illness)

0 = death

So:

Living 1 year in perfect health = 1 QALY

Living 2 years at 0.5 quality = 1 QALY

Living 5 years at 0.8 quality = 4 QALYs

It’s a standard metric used in healthcare economics to compare the health benefit of different treatments or policies.

That means:

If a treatment costs £10,000 and provides 1 QALY, → £10,000 per QALY → cost-effective.

If it costs £100,000 for 1 QALY, → £100,000 per QALY → not cost-effective.

There’s some flexibility:

Below £20k/QALY → usually recommended.

Between £20k–£30k/QALY → considered carefully.

Above £30k/QALY → rarely approved unless strong justification (e.g., very severe disease, children, end-of-life).

So the bottom line is a year of your health is worth circa £20K to our caring government.

Cressy

Just off track slightly but my husband and I are 70 this month but have been told that because this was after the 1 September we have to wait until next year when we will be nearly 71! Any yet 65yr olds can get it now 🤷‍♀️

I had this problem with the shingles vaccine.

PaynesGrey you might find this an interesting read.

christinapagel.substack.com/p/england-is-now-experiencing-a-significant

I now live in Ireland, here its over 60s free .
We are seen as more vulnerable

Nice to read a sensible counter argument. I had two Covid jabs as thought it was my civic duty. They caused me problems but thankfully I am still here. I am eligible for the jab but will definitely not risk it.

My husband and I (73 & 68) have both been given appointments for flu and covid vaccine next week. Maybe it depends on area, we are Midlands? We did not ask but had request ftom our Dr practice to book asap.🤔