For what reason the eligibility criteria for a COVID-19 vaccine have reportedly changed, in light of reported concerns that older people wh…

The Scottish Government’s decision-making throughout the COVID-19 vaccination programme has been guided by the expert clinical advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).In its statement of 8 April 2024 the JCVI stated it no longer advised an offer of COVID-19 vaccination for unpaid carers and household contacts of people with immunosuppression. As a result, unpaid carers and household contacts of people with immunosuppression were removed from the programme as of winter 2024-25. This position is consistent across all UK nations, and remains unchanged for winter 2025-26.The reasons the JCVI no longer advised the inclusion of these groups are:that the indirect benefits of vaccination (vaccinating an individual in order to reduce the risk of severe disease in other people) became less evident compared with previous years due to high levels of population immunity;the fact that vaccines provide moderate protection against severe COVID-19 for a few months;protection against mild symptomatic infection is much more limited in terms of peak protection and duration of protection and that with the evidence available, protection against transmission is extremely limited.In its statement of 14 November 2024, the JCVI once more updated its advice on eligibility for COVID-19 vaccination and for winter 2025-26 the following groups remain eligible:Residents in care homes for older adultsAll adults aged 75 years and overIndividuals aged 6 months and over who are immunosuppressed (as defined in the 'immunosuppression' sections of tables 3 and 4 in the COVID-19 chapter of the Green Book).The statement advised that the COVID-19 vaccination programme should now move to JCVI's standard cost effectiveness assessment, as per other routine vaccination programmes.Furthermore, over the last four years, population immunity to COVID-19 has been increasing due to a combination of naturally acquired immunity following recovery from infection and vaccine-derived immunity. COVID-19 is now a relatively mild disease for most people, though it can still be unpleasant, with rates of hospitalisation and death from COVID-19 having reduced significantly since it first emerged. This has led to a more refined approach to the targeting of the COVID-19 vaccination programme, with a focus on individuals where there is good evidence of a high risk of hospitalisation and/or mortality.The Scottish Government encourages those eligible to take up the offer of COVID-19 vaccination.