Second Covid boosters coming for the at-risk

A second Covid-19 vaccine booster shot will be provided to at-risk people from July. Covid-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins yesterday said hundreds of thousands of people that were at high-risk of severe illness from Covid-19, such as the elderly and the immuno-compromised, would get a second booster. ‘‘A booster is important for our most vulnerable as we move into the winter peak,’’ he said. The Ministry of Health Covid-19 vaccine technical advisory group had decided a second booster might be beneficial to vulnerable people, six months on from their initial booster. This second booster could be a fourth or fifth dose for those within the eligible population, which could include the elderly, those in disability care facilities, and the severely immuno-compromised. ‘‘The Government is working urgently to enable the second booster to be made available in the same way as the primary course and booster – that is, without needing to access a GP,’’ Hipkins said.