UK expands Covid-19 vaccination campaign to cover all over 65s

The UK’s vaccination program will officially expand from Monday as the National Health Service (NHS) invites all over 65s and clinically vulnerable groups to receive their vaccines to protect themselves against Covid-19.

So far, more than 14.5 million people in the four designated priority groups of the over-70s and health and primary care workers have been protected by at least one of the two-dose vaccines Pfizer / BioNTech and Oxford / AstraZeneca.

NHS England said on Sunday that millions of letters asking people in the next cluster of priority groups to book their vaccines at one of more than 100 large-scale vaccination centers or nearly 200 pharmacy departments had already been issued.

“The immunization program continues at unprecedented speed and, as we are on the cusp of delivering vaccines to all of the first four priority groups by Monday, we are determined to keep the momentum going by expanding it. even more, ”the UK said. Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

“The NHS is doing everything it can to get vaccines to the most vulnerable as quickly as possible, and today’s news will mean millions more at risk will be able to access a vaccine as early as next week. We will continue to accelerate the immunization program even further, ”he said.

In the next phase, which starts on Monday, vaccination sites run by general practitioners will initially focus on clinically vulnerable people with long-term illnesses and requiring continuity of care.

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Official advice for anyone aged 65 to 69 who wants to wait to be called by their local general immunization service, or who have already received the vaccine, do not need to respond to letters from the NHS to visit a vaccination site .

More high street pharmacists are also being invited to participate as the program continues to gain momentum.

“After a solid start, the NHS vaccination program, the largest and fastest in Europe, is entering a new phase tomorrow,” said Sir Simon Stevens, NHS chief executive.

“This is an exciting time as we now move on to those 65 years of age and older and those who are clinically vulnerable as part of our plan to immunize as many people as possible who can benefit. However, if you’ve already been offered a jab but haven’t taken it back, it’s not too late. Please come and help us help you, ”he said.

The United Kingdom’s Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization (JCVI), which created the priority categories for vaccinations, defines clinically vulnerable people as those with chronic respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, cystic fibrosis and severe asthma.

Until now, the vaccination program has targeted frontline NHS staff, residents and nursing home workers, as well as those over 70 and those deemed clinically extremely vulnerable.

Meanwhile, the UK’s devolved areas are also largely in tune with the dynamics of NHS England.

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In Wales, Prime Minister Mark Drakeford said his region has started contacting people over the age of 50, while Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said she expected many people aged 65 to 69 had their first stroke by the middle of this month after the vast majority of older people had been vaccinated.

In Northern Ireland, the Department of Health is offering a vaccine to everyone over 65 by the end of February.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson praised the “huge progress” being made on vaccines and expressed optimism that a plan is established to gradually ease the lockdown on England later this month.

He is under increasing pressure from backbench MPs within his own party, the anti-lockdown Covid Recovery (CRG) group of Conservative MPs calling for a complete easing of the lockdown by the end of April and for a plan for a “return to normal life”. .

Johnson said March 8 as the date for schools to reopen as the first step towards easing the lockdown, but stressed the approach would be “cautious” and based on the rate of coronavirus infections.

The UK has seen lower infection rates in recent days, but numbers remain high, with 13,308 new infections and 621 deaths recorded over the weekend, bringing the death toll from the deadly virus to nearly 117,000 .