Which countries are giving the most booster jabs? The nations already administering third Covid jabs as UK plans next step

The UK Government has announced that half a million people across the country will now be in line for a booster jab against coronavirus.

The full booster rollout is expected to commence in September but some countries are already far ahead of the UK after giving third doses to millions to boost immunisation.

With the ongoing threat of new variants, waning immunity and inadequate protection for at-risk groups, the UK and governments around the world are planning the next stage in the vaccine rollout.

Here we reveal which countries have already administered millions of third doses to fight the disease.

Who is administering booster jabs?

Booster vaccines against coronavirus are currently being rolled out across a handful of countries in Europe, South America and Asia.

Worldwide, 14.5 million booster vaccines have now been administered across nine countries, according to analysis by NationalWorld of vaccine data sourced from Our World in Data.

The data is correct as of 30 or 31 August, depending on the country.

Turkey has administered the greatest number of boosters, with 8.8 million people having now received a top-up.

The country began offering booster jabs in mid-August after administering millions of the Chinese-made Sinovac’s Coronavac vaccine, currently not approved in many countries –  including in the UK –  after studies revealed antibodies declined after six months.

Chile is also offering booster injections to those vaccinated with Sinovac. It has so far administered 1.4 million booster jabs.

Israel, which led the global rollout of coronavirus vaccination, has also administered millions of booster doses to heighten protection against the Delta variant. The country has given a booster to around 2.1 million people. Everyone aged 12 and over can now receive a third dose.

NationalWorld understands that the USA is also providing booster vaccines, however this information is not included in the data.

When will the UK be administering booster jabs?

On Wednesday (1 September) the UK Government announced that half a million people aged 12 and over with severely weakened immune systems will now be in line to receive a booster vaccine.

But Health and Social Care Secretary Sajid Javid said this “was not the start of the booster programme” as this is being planned for a rollout later in September.

A spokesperson for the Government said: “We are preparing for a booster programme to ensure those most vulnerable to Covid-19 have protection extended ahead of winter and against new variants.

“Any booster programme will be based on the final advice of the independent Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI).”

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