UK plans COVID boosters for over 50s to cope with "bumpy" winter

FILE PHOTO: A person receives a dose of the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine at the Central Middlesex Hospital in London, Britain, August 1, 2021. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain will begin a COVID-19 vaccine booster programme for older and more vulnerable people soon as Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government relies on vaccines rather than further lockdowns to navigate a "bumpy" winter.

Officials said COVID-19 vaccines had saved more than 112,000 lives and averted 24 million infections as they proposed a third shot for frontline health workers and those aged over 50 or clinically vulnerable, starting with people most at risk.