Free Republic

Vaccinations for BA.2.86 will start on Sept. 11, focusing on care home residents, those at highest riskEngland will bring forward the start of its autumn flu and COVID-19 vaccination programmes as a precautionary step after the identification of highly mutated COVID variant BA.2.86, which has been found in Britain. Scientists have said BA.2.86, an offshoot of the Omicron variant, was unlikely to cause a devastating wave of severe disease and death, given immune defences built up worldwide from vaccination and prior infection. However, Britain's health ministry said annual vaccination programmes for older and at-risk groups would start a few weeks...