England's over-70s and extremely vulnerable to be offered Covid vaccine from this week

People over the age of 70 and those who are clinically extremely vulnerable in England will begin receiving invites for their coronavirus vaccination this week.

More than five million people across priority groups three and four will receive the jab at vaccination sites that have the capacity, as part of the Government’s vaccination rollout programme.

Over-70s and clinically extremely vulnerable to be offered vaccine

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The Government has said it will continue to prioritise the first two priority groups - which include care home residents and their carers, and over-80s, frontline health and social care workers - but that clinics in areas where the majority of these people had received their a jab would now start inviting groups three and four.

More than 3.8 million people, including the over-80s, care home residents and NHS and social care staff, have now received their first dose of a Covid vaccine.

Vaccines Minister, Nadhim Zahawi, told BBC Breakfast that under the first phase of the rollout the aim was to vaccinate the top four priority groups by the middle of February.

In an aim to meet the Government’s target of offering 15 million people in the UK a Covid vaccine by 15 February, ten new mass Covid vaccination centres will open in England from Monday (18 Jan).

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Among the new venues opening as vaccination centres are Blackburn Cathedral and St Helens Rugby Ground, with NHS England saying the new centres would offer "thousands" of jabs a week.

After the top four priority groups have been offered vaccines, this will then be followed by the next five groups, which includes people aged 50 and over and those aged between 16 and 64 who have underlying health conditions.

However, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) is currently looking at who to vaccinate in the second phase of the vaccination rollout, and Mr Zahawi said that workers who are at “much greater risk” of catching Covid, such as teachers and police officers, should be offered vaccines.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab also said on Sunday (17 Jan) that all adults would be offered a first dose of the coronavirus vaccine by September.