UK to hit target of offering Covid-19 vaccine to most at risk by Monday
Video report by ITV News Health Editor Emily Morgan
The UK is set to hit its target of offering a coronavirus vaccine to the most at-risk people by Monday.
NHS England said the top four priority groups had been reached and "have now been offered the opportunity to be vaccinated”.
The government had set the target of offering a vaccine to all four priority groups by Monday, but looks set to hit that goal as early as Saturday.
It urged health and care workers who have not accepted a vaccine but would like one, to contact their employer who is responsible for arranging their vaccination.
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Which people are in the top four priority groups?
People aged 70 and over
Care home residents and staff
Healthcare workers
Clinically extremely vulnerable patients
Those eligible for a jab can arrange one through the national booking system or by calling 119.
It comes as government data up to the end of Thursday shows that 14,012,224 people in the UK have now received a first dose of the vaccine.
Sir Simon Stevens, the chief executive of NHS England, praised staff for their efforts in reaching millions of people with vaccines.
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He said: “It is thanks to fantastic staff... that the NHS is delivering Europe’s fastest and largest Covid vaccination programme.
“After a year of huge pandemic pressure, it has been a huge and unique team effort that gives us real hope for the future.”
In further developments, NHS England said people aged 65 to 69 can now have a Covid-19 vaccine in England if GPs have supplies.
Some regions of England have already begun vaccinating the over-65s with their first dose after they reached everyone in the top four priority groups.
Meanwhile, in Wales, First Minister Mark Drakeford said some over-50s there have already begun to be contacted and offered a vaccination as the top four groups had been reached, the first part of the UK to hit this milestone.
A Welsh government spokesperson said it was still proactively contacting anyone in groups one to four “who may have changed their minds or may have been ill or may have, for some reason, not been able to take up the appointment”.
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Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said she expects many in the 65-69 age group to have had their first jab by the middle of this month after the vast majority of older people were vaccinated.
In Northern Ireland, the Department of Health is offering everyone over 65 a vaccine by the end of February as it works its way through priority groups four and five, though it is expected to help the UK meet its overall target.
On February 9, the latest date for which figures are available, the number of patients in hospital with Covid-19 in the UK stood at 25,621.
This is down 35% from a peak of 39,236 on January 18, and is the lowest number since December 29.
But while scientists advising the government believe cases of Covid-19 are dropping at a decent pace across England, they have warned that infection levels remain high.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing calls from Tory sceptics to ease the lockdown once the pressure on the NHS eases and deaths drop.
But scientists argue that case numbers are still too high for a significant loosening of restrictions.
Speaking on Friday, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that while it "is clearly good news that the number of cases is coming down, the plan is working, but we're still a long way off getting this sorted.
"There's still over 25,000 in hospital with coronavirus right now.
"So everyone can have confidence that the plan is working... but there's still a long way to go."
They believe that only by driving case numbers to much lower levels can NHS Test and Trace and surge testing work properly.
With low case numbers, clusters of cases can be identified more easily and new mutations to the virus can be picked up, one government scientific adviser said.