People aged 56 to 59 are being invited to book a life-saving Covid jab this week as the NHS vaccination programme, the biggest in health service history, continues to gather pace.
Across England, letters to 850,000 people aged 56 to 59 began landing on doorsteps from Saturday 6 March, with another 850k arriving today (Monday 8 March).
The latest invites have been sent after more than 8 in ten people aged 65 to 69 took up the offer of a jab.
NHS staff have vaccinated more than 18 million people across England, meaning more than one third of the adult population, have already received the life-saving jab.
Dr Nikki Kanani, NHS national medical director for primary care and a GP, said: “The NHS vaccine programme is committed to protecting the country against coronavirus and it is testament to our incredible staff that we can now move on to the next age group.
“We must not forget that our success in vaccinating more than 18 million people is down to careful planning and the hard work of those staff.
“The vaccines are both safe and effective, so if anybody who is eligible but hasn’t been vaccinated yet, I’d urge them to go online or call 119 and get themselves booked in.”
People receiving the letters are invited to go online to the national booking service to arrange a jab at a time and location that is convenient for them. If they are not able to go online, they can call 119 free of charge.
The NHS is vaccinating in line with JCVI guidance which sees people invited to be vaccinated in order of risk, which increases with age and people aged between 50 and 55 are set to be invited shortly.
People can use the national booking service to reserve a slot at a NHS Vaccination Centre or one of the pharmacy-led services.
In Kent and Medway there are 4 large vaccination centres and 10 pharmacy services. General Practice teams are also running vaccinations from 39 locations across Kent and Medway.
Everyone will receive a health status check and a pre-vaccination assessment before they have their jab.
Find out more about the vaccination programme in Kent and Medway at:
www.kentandmedwayccg.nhs.uk/your-health/coronavirus/covid19vaccine