Autumn Covid booster jab in England and Scotland are starting next week. With care home residents the first to receive them.

Infections of Covid 19 are falling. However health bosses are predicting a resurgence of Covid and flu this autumn and winter for 2022 / 2023.

To protect themselves from serious illness health bosses are encouraging getting vaccines against both the variants.

A recently approved vaccine against the Omicron variant will be used first.

Currently there is not enough of Moderna's "bivalent" vaccine to protect everyone aged over 50.

The NHS bosses have said people should take whichever booster they are offered. While further boaster vaccines will arrive throughout the winter.

The UK has reduced the need for testing. While movements in and out of care home occupuants still require a lateral flow tests.

Pfizer-BioNTech has been approved for use by the European Medicines Agency a

The groups who qualify for an autumn booster are:

• adults aged 50 and over
• people aged five to 49 with health conditions that put them at higher risk - including pregnant women
• care-home staff
• frontline health and social care workers
• carers aged 16 to 49
• household contacts of people with weakened immune systems
• The most vulnerable will be prioritised first.

NHS England chief executive Amanda Pritchard called on people "to get the newly approved, next generation Covid vaccine when invited to do so, as well as your annual flu jab, to ensure you have maximum protection".

Where are we with Covid:

Covid infection levels in the UK have been falling since the start of the July, with the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics showing around 1.7% of the population - around 1.1 million people - had the virus in the week to 23 August.

The number testing positive would be:

one in 60 in England one in 65 in Wales one in 55 in Scotland one in 50 in Northern Ireland The ONS says it is monitoring Covid rates closely as children return to school across the UK.

Cases of Covid in hospital are also falling.

NHS bosses have warned the virus and flu are likely to make a comeback this winter. Potentially making it a doubly bad winter.