Covid vaccine for over 70s: How do I book an appointment and where are the vaccination hubs?

NHS staff prepare to administer a Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine
NHS staff prepare to administer a Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine Credit: PA

Over-80s, care home residents, NHS and social care staff and now everyone over the age of 70 and those that are extremely clinically vulnerable are entitled to the coronavirus vaccine.

NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said the health service is vaccinating at a rate of “140 jabs a minute”.

The health service say they will contact people when it's their turn to get the jab after which an appointment can be made at more than 1,000 sites across England.

Here's everything you need to know about getting a jab.

Where can you get it?

Around 1,200 GP surgeries and pharmacies, 250 hospitals, and 17 mass vaccination centres across the UK are offering the vaccine.

Ten new mass vaccination centres opened today. They are in:

  • Bournemouth International Centre, Dorset

  • Taunton Racecourse, Somerset

  • Blackburn Cathedral, Lancashire

  • Salt Hill Activity Centre, Berkshire

  • Norwich Food Court, Norfolk

  • The Lodge in Wickford, Essex

  • Princess Royal Sports Arena, Boston, Lincolnshire

  • St Helens Rugby Ground, Merseyside

  • The park-and-ride at Askham Bar, York

  • Olympic Office Centre in Wembley, north London

They join seven hubs already up and running which are:

  • Etihad Tennis Centre, Manchester

  • Epsom Downs Racecourse, Surrey

  • Robertson House, Stevenage

  • Centre for Life, Newcastle

  • Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol

  • Millennium Point, Birmingham

  • ExCel, London

An elderly man is vaccinated at a centre at Askham Bar park and ride in York. Credit: PA

The NHS says that now 96% of the population is within 10 miles of a vaccine service.

There are plans for 35 mass vaccination centres across Wales with 100 GP practices providing clinics by the end of this week.

In Scotland, GP practices, community centres and sport centres will administer the vaccine, with home visits for the extremely vulnerable and mobile units for remote and rural areas.

The British Army is establishing 80 new mass vaccination hubs across Scotland in the next 28 days.

The Scottish government aims to deliver on average 400,000 vaccinations per week by the end of February.

The NHS Louisa Jordan temporary hospital in Glasgow is already offering the jab.

More will open in March among them:

  • Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre

  • Ravenscraig sports facility in Motherwell

  • Queen Margaret University in Musselburgh

  • Edinburgh International Conference Centre

Work is ongoing to find other locations in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board area.

How do I book a vaccination?

People in England must be registered with a GP to get the vaccine.GP surgeries or NHS national will send letters inviting people to book two appointments for both doses online at the same time.

The second will follow around 11 to 12 weeks after the first.

In Wales, appointments and invitations are being arranged via letter and over the phone, and there will a similar process in Scotland.

People are being asked not to turn up at a vaccination centre without an appointment.You will never be sent a text, asked to pay or be asked for your bank details in relation to the jab.

People queue outside a vaccination centre in Newcastle Credit: PA

Who's next in line?

After people over the age of 70, next in line are priority groups five to nine - covering everybody over the age of 50, and people under age of 65 who have underlying health conditions which put them at greater risk of severe Covid complications.

People in these groups should expect to receive their first jab by the spring.

Once they have been vaccinated, the jab will then be rolled out to the wider adult population in an order yet to be decided.

Cabinet minister Dominic Raab said on Sunday that all adults will be offered a first dose by September.

What regions are inoculating the highest number of people?

The latest figures from NHS England show that the number of vaccinations across England were patchy.

The West Midlands 447,329 jabs were administered last week, with at least 387,647 receiving one jab.

The North East and Yorkshire were next with 433,045 but in London only 236,023 had the jab with the capital's Mayor, Sadiq Khan, saying he was "hugely concerned."

The numbers show about half of people aged 80 and over in north-east England and Yorkshire have received their first dose.

By contrast just three in 10 people aged 80 and over in eastern England have had their first jab, with a similar proportion in London.