What was the reason then
Cost effectiveness.Cost-effectiveness assessment
A bespoke, non-standard method of cost-effectiveness assessment was developed to reflect the ongoing uncertainty around COVID-19. This cost-effectiveness assessment was one of the factors considered by JCVI in the formulation of its advice for spring 2024. Cost-effectiveness was considered by age group and clinical risk group.
Utilising a deployment cost of £25 per vaccine (as estimated by NHS England), the non-standard cost-effectiveness assessment for booster vaccination in spring 2024 indicated that, within the assumptions describing the most plausible projected scenario, vaccination was likely to be cost-effective when offered to the following groups:
all adults aged 90 years and over not in a clinical risk group
all adults aged 80 years and over in a clinical risk group
all adults aged 65 years and over with immunosuppression
Limitations of the existing cost-effectiveness assessment are recognised, including the ongoing high-level uncertainties with regards to COVID-19 epidemiology, the heterogeneity of risk seen in immunosuppressed people of all ages, and the high risk of exposure seen in care home settings which may not be fully captured within the existing assessment. It is also recognised that a high proportion of older adults are living with comorbidities and that vaccine uptake is higher in universal age-based programmes. Overall, JCVI considered it appropriate to offer a spring 2024 vaccine dose to a wider group of persons than identified solely in the cost-effectiveness assessment of the most plausible scenario.
It's amazing how many Antivaxers assume that the NHS doesn't actually check on outcomes or value for money, and depressing to see how few people even bother using Google.
In short it is worth vaccinating the higher risk groups at the moment but for the lower risk groups the money would be better spent elsewhere.
It is also interesting to see the cost to vaccinated is around £25 per person.