People 70 and older who have not yet received the coronavirus vaccine are being encouraged to make an appointment with the NHS.
The health secretary said at a press conference on Downing Street: ‘So far, we have said please wait for the NHS to contact you – but now that message is changing.’
Matt Hancock told anyone who lives in England, aged 70 or over and has not yet brought a jab, to contact the NHS.
He said the easiest way to do this is through the national reservation service on nhs.uk, or call 119 or contact your local family doctor if you are unable to connect.
This is because the government is just days away from confirming that it has achieved its goal of offering vaccination against Covid-19 to everyone in the four priority groups before mid-February.
“I was thrilled to see such enthusiasm for performing for a jab and I am delighted that the acceptance was so high,” added Hancock.
“But we are not going to rest until all the vulnerable have been protected.
‘Therefore, the NHS and the local authorities and the teams that work with them are doing everything they can to reach the remaining people in these at-risk groups.
“And we will continue to look for those few final percentages and even as we expand the offer of a vaccine to younger age groups.
“We are on track to meet our goal of offering a vaccine to everyone in priority groups one through four by February 15, which is a week today, before moving on to the other priority groups.”
Dr. Nikki Kanani, NHS England’s medical director of primary care and a general practitioner, added: ‘The NHS vaccination program, the largest in the history of health care, has had a strong start, with each qualified health facility receiving one visit and millions more people being vaccinated at one of more than 1,500 centers across the country, thanks to the untiring efforts of my colleagues.
‘But if you are 70 or older and have not yet received your vaccine, please advise yourself and make an appointment as soon as possible.
‘The vaccine is safe, simple and will offer you and those around you crucial protection against this virus.’
Mr. Hancock also confirmed that to date, 12.2 million people in the UK have been vaccinated against coronavirus, which is almost one in four adults across the UK.
He said there was also “significantly” more acceptance than experts predicted.
“The acceptance of the vaccine so far has been significantly better than we expected,” added the health secretary.
“Based on the work we did before the vaccination program started and looking at the research, we knew that the UK had one of the most positive attitudes towards adopting the vaccine.
‘But even so, we thought we would achieve an absorption of around 75% and I am very pleased to be able to say that, since midnight last night, among those over 80, we have now given a first dose to 91% . ‘
Covid-19’s list of priority vaccines, established by the Joint Vaccination and Immunization Committee, currently has nine groups.
Currently, the four priority groups are being targeted, which include all those over 70 years old, social and health workers, home residents, their caregivers and people considered clinically extremely vulnerable to the virus.
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