Covid vaccine: All over-50s in England can now book a vaccination through NHS website
Everyone aged 50 and over in England is now eligible for a Covid-19 vaccine and can book an appointment through the NHS website.
A surge in supply means half of all UK adults could have had a jab by the end of the week.
The government hopes all over-50s and those with underlying health conditions will have at least one vaccine dose by 15 April.
In England, the 55-59 age group were invited to get the jab last week.
As of the end of Monday March 15, the number of people in the UK to have been given a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine is 24,839,906 - an increase of 386,685 compared to the previous day.
That equates to 37.2% of the population having received at least one dose of the vaccine.
The over-50s are the last group in the phase one priority groups list that the government aimed to have vaccinated by mid-April, with all over-18s offered a jab by the end of July.
Speaking on Monday, Professor Anthony Harnden, deputy chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation, said that all over-50s will be vaccinated within the next few weeks.
He told BBC Breakfast: “In primary care, we’re still vaccinating cohort six – all with underlying illness – and some of seven.
“But, throughout the country, we’re going down to cohort nine.
“Most people over the age of 50 will be vaccinated really within the next few weeks – so it is tremendously successful.
“Those first nine priority groups included 99% of all hospitalisations and deaths, certainly in wave one of the pandemic, so we’re feeling very optimistic.
“We’re seeing a very sharp reduction in the deaths and hospitalisations throughout the country.”
Who is getting vaccinated, when?
The vaccine will be distributed to these 12 groups in the following order, according to the list drawn up by the JCVI.
In brackets is the estimated number of people in each group in the UK:
Phase one priority groups (to be offered first dose by mid-April)
1 - Residents in a care home for older adults and their carers (800,000 people)
2 - Those aged 80 and over and frontline health and social care workers (a total of 7.1 million people in this group: 3.3m over 80s, 2.4m healthcare workers, 1.4m social care workers)
3 - Those aged 75 and over (2.3 million)
4 - Those aged 70 and over and clinically extremely vulnerable individuals (4.4 million)
5 - Those aged 65 and over (2.9 million)
6 - All individuals aged 16 to 64 with underlying health conditions which put them at higher risk of serious disease and mortality (7.3 million)
7 - Those aged 60 and over (1.8 million)
8 - Those aged 55 years and over (2.4 million)
9 - Those aged 50 years of age and over (2.8 million)
Phase two (to be offered first dose by mid-July)
10 - All those aged 40-49 years
11 - All those aged 30-39 years
12 - All those aged 18-29 years
It comes as government officials and healthcare experts sort to reassure the public over the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine after several European countries halt their jab rollouts amid reports of blood clotting, though no link has been established with the vaccine..
On Wednesday, Matt Hancock urged people to "listen to the regulators" and said the Oxford/AstraZeneca Covid vaccine "is safe".
"We keep the effects of these vaccinations under review all the time and we know that the Oxford/AstraZeneca jab is saving lives in the UK right now.
"So if you get the call, get the jab," Mr Hancock said.
On Tuesday, the European Union’s medicines regulator said there is “no indication” that the coronavirus vaccine is the cause of the reported blood clots.
The World Health Organization's (WHO) global advisory committee on vaccine safety and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) met on Tuesday to discuss fears the AstraZeneca jab can cause blood clots.
The WHO, the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the EMA have all said there is no evidence the jab causes blood clots.
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