Elderly and healthcare workers set to be the first in line for jabs

CARE home residents and staff could be first in line for any Covid-19 vaccine that is approved by regulators.

Vaccine experts advising the Government have previously published a detailed list of who should get any Covid-19 jab first.

The Government has procured 40 million doses of Pfizer/BioNTech’s vaccine, with 10 million doses being manufactured and available to the UK by the end of the year – if the vaccine is approved by regulators.

This covers 20 million people because the vaccine needs two doses.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said care home residents and staff were among those who should be given the jab first.

The prioritisation for other people is linked to their age and risk. The committee examined data on who suffers the worst outcomes from coronavirus and who is at highest risk of death.

The interim guidance says the order of priority should be:

■ older adults in a care home and care home workers;

■ all those aged 80 and over and health and social care workers, though they may move up the list;

■ anyone 75 years of age and over;

■ people aged 70 and over;

■ all those aged 65 and over;

■ high-risk adults under 65 years of age;

■ moderate-risk adults under 65 years of age;

■ all those aged 60 and over;

■ all those 55 and over;

■ all those aged 50 and over;

■ the rest of the population, with priority yet to be determined.

But the JCVI stressed this list was “not considered definitive” as more data is still being collected on at-risk groups.