OVER-40? TIME FOR A JAB
As Hancock is given his shot by Van-Tam, 2.5m more Britons get their vaccine call this week
ANYONE aged 40 and over in England can book their Covid jab from today as the rollout continues at pace.
Text messages are being sent to 40 and 41- year- olds to arrange vaccination appointments for first doses.
Nearly three- quarters- of-a-million appointments were made on Monday and Tuesday this week as the NHS began inviting over-45s to be vaccinated.
Yesterday, Matt Hancock said it was a ‘privilege’ to receive his first dose of the Oxford jab at the hands of Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jonathan Van-Tam.
The 42-year-old Health Secretary described the process in the vaccination hub at London’s Science Museum as painless.
Alongside a picture on Twitter of himself receiving the injection from a masked Professor Van-Tam, he wrote: ‘Brilliant! Got the jab. In & out in 8 minutes. Didn’t hurt at all. Massive thanks to JVT & the @ sciencemuseum team. When you get the call, get the jab!’
NHS England said 2.5million more people have been invited for their jab this week alone.
It comes as the latest NHS England figures revealed more than 28.5million in England had received their first jab by April 28, nearly two thirds of the adult population.
The data, published yesterday, also showed that nearly 12 million people had received their second doses, making them fully vaccinated against Covid-19.
Government figures show 48,138,009 vaccinations have now been given across the UK, including 14,043,961 second doses.
NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said: ‘With nine tenths of people aged 45 and over having been jabbed, nearly three quarters of a million new appointments were made in just two days as our booking service opened to people aged 42 to 44. With second doses also proceeding apace, we’re now ready to invite all those aged 40 and over to join the most successful vaccination drive in health service history.’
Professor Stephen Powis, medical director for the NHS in England, urged those who receive a text to book their jab.
He said: ‘The rapid rollout of the NHS vaccination programme, the swiftest in Europe, is down to months of careful planning and sheer hard work by nurses, doctors and countless other staff supported by our volunteers.
‘If you receive a text inviting you
‘Months of careful planning’
for your jab, please follow the instructions provided and book – it is simple, effective and provides vital protection against the virus.’
NHS England said that when invited, people will be able to book in at a vaccination centre or pharmacy site through the national booking service.
Text invitations appear as an alert from ‘ NHSvaccine’ and include a link to the NHS website to reserve an appointment.
Those who cannot go online can call the service on 119 instead to book their jab.
Meanwhile, regulators have said that the rare blood clotting disorder linked to the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine particularly affects younger adults.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency released a more detailed breakdown of figures as government scientists continued to debate whether everyone under 40 should be offered an alternative vaccine. The latest number of cases in the UK was 209, including 41 deaths, up to April 21 – up from 168 cases and 32 deaths a week earlier. The estimated number of first doses administered in the UK by then was 22 million, giving an overall case incidence one per 107,526,00 doses.
‘The data suggest there is a higher incidence reported in the younger adult age groups’, said the regulator. ‘This evolving evidence should be taken into account when considering the use of the vaccine.’
BRITAIN’S bookmakers are cynically cashing in on Covid by luring the vulnerable deeper into the despair of online gambling. But is anyone truly surprised?
Given carte blanche by Labour, these iniquitous firms have deployed every trick in the book – from branding football shirts to handing out free cash – to hook punters.
Now customers of the UK’s biggest betting company are losing a staggering £ 6million a day. Intending to relieve lockdown boredom, many end up ruined.
Instead of talking tough, isn’t it about time the Government finally tackled the merchants of such misery?