UK set to expand COVID vaccine boosters amid omicron fears

The independent body advising the British government on the rollout of coronavirus vaccines will decide whether to expand the booster program to younger age groups following the discovery of the new omicron variant

LONDON -- The independent body advising the British government on the rollout of coronavirus vaccines will likely decide Monday whether to expand the booster program to younger age groups following the discovery of the new omicron variant.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization, or JCVI, has been asked by the British government to consider the merits of expanding the booster program to millions more people under the age of 40 and cutting the time period to a third jab.

Professor Anthony Harnden, deputy chair of the JCVI, told the BBC that it was “really important that we get the immunity levels in the population high” in case the omicron variant is more transmissible or protection from the vaccines is reduced.

The expected announcement comes after the Scottish Government announced that six cases of the omicron variant have been identified in Scotland, which takes the U.K. total to nine.