Covid booster vaccines are to be trialled in the UK as health chiefs gear up to offer all over-50s a third dose this autumn.
Southampton University scientists will recruit thousands of fully-vaccinated Britons to the study, which will test seven Covid jabs as top-ups.
They will record any side-effects analyse the antibody levels of volunteers to check whether the extra dose offered any extra protection.
No10 s top scientists are set to be fed the results of the world-first trial to determine how booster shots should be dished out later in the year.
Experts running the clinical trials said every jab should spark added immunity but that some may lead to more side-effects than others.
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Government s chief scientific advisor Sir Patrick Vallance warns UK is in for a pretty grim period for Covid deaths which won t reduce for some weeks even if lockdown measures bring infections down - as Britain sees daily record of 1,564 fatalities
Department of Health figures show the daily coronavirus death toll has risen 50 per cent week-on-week
Analysis suggests that the overall number of deaths suspected and confirmed has passed 100,000
But statistics also show that the UK s outbreak is finally starting to slow, with cases down 23.7% in a week
Sir Patrick Vallance said Britain is now in a period of high death numbers which will not reduce quickly
Redditch hospital worker has first vaccine at Birmingham super hub
The vaccination process starts at the new Covid 19 vaccination centre at Millennium point in Birmingham. Photo by SWNS THE first person to be treated at Birmingham s mass vaccination super hub was 46-year-old hospital worker from Redditch Selina Wilson. The occupational therapist received her first dose of the AstraZeneca Oxford vaccine just after midday on Monday (January 11) at the city s Millennium Point. The multi-use meeting and conference venue, which includes the Thinktank Science Museum, has been converted into one of seven UK mass injection centres.
Selina Wilson, 46, occupational therapist from Redditch getting her first dose at the new super hub. Photo from SWNS