COVID vaccine booster: Likelihood of uptake

Booster jabs are now being offered to over 50s and vulnerable groups, but how willing will people be to take up these jabs? And what if they are rolled out more widely? Over 90% of people aged over 70 would be ‘very likely’ to take the booster, but just 55% of 16-29 year olds would take up the offer.

Research shows that protection from COVID-19 offered by the available vaccines diminishes over time. Booster jabs designed to prolong immunity are therefore suggested, and several countries around the world, such as Israel, Turkey and Chile are already rolling out booster programmes. 

The plan in the UK is that the most vulnerable groups, such as the elderly, those with underlying health conditions, and frontline health and social care workers, will be offered a booster in the first instance. If deemed necessary, other groups in the general population will then be offered booster shots.

As we have seen, not everybody in the UK has been willing to take up the offer of a vaccine, with several reasons cited. Booster shots will be available to those who have already been vaccinated, but data from the Office for National Statistics show that not everybody who has received two doses of a vaccine would be willing to accept a booster jab. 

Likelihood of uptake varies with age. Over 90% of people aged 70 and above would be ‘very likely’ to take up the offer of a booster jab, compared with just over half of 16-29 year olds.