Around 1.5 million texts are being sent out to 18-20-year-olds on Friday, inviting them to book their appointment.
All adults in England are now able to book their first Covid-19 vaccination, in what the NHS has described as a “watershed moment”.
Around 1.5 million texts are being sent out to 18-20 year-olds on Friday, inviting them to book their appointment.
The huge milestone puts the country well on track to hit Boris Johnson’s new target of vaccinating all over-18s who want the jab by 19 July – when the final lockdown restrictions are set to be lifted.
Who can get the jab, and how to book
- England: people aged 18 and above can book online or by calling the national booking service on 119, when invited to do so
- Scotland: people aged 30 and above can book online or by calling 119. In parts of Glasgow people over 18 can book their jabs, due to rising cases of the Indian variant (Delta)
- Wales: people over 18 can book online or by calling 119
- Northern Ireland: people over 18 can book online or by calling 0300 200 7813
When you book you enter your postcode, and the booking service will show you all the available options for appointments near you.
Sir Simon Stevens, who is soon stepping down as chief executive of NHS England, said it the health service would use the four-week delay to the lockdown roadmap to “finish the job” of protecting all adults against coronavirus.
Around 80 per cent of all adults have now had their first vaccination, and around 59 per cent of the population is double-jabbed.
However, people over 40 and those with severe underlying health conditions are now being offered their second dose eight weeks after their first, due to the spread of the Delta variant.
Which vaccine will I get?
The Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines are currently being used in the UK.
You do not get to choose which vaccine you are given. However, under-40s are being offered an alternative to the AstraZeneca jab where possible, due to concerns over rare blood clots.
You will receive the same vaccine for your first and second dose – though a trial is currently under way to see if mixing and matching is effective.
Will there be a third dose?
People are being encouraged to sign up to a trial to measure the effectiveness of getting a third dose.
If that trial is successful people could start to be offered booster jabs from the autumn.
Does the jab work against the Delta variant?
Tests have shown both the Pfizer and AstraZeneca jabs to be highly effective against the Delta variant, first identified in India.
However, the effectiveness after one dose is just 33 per cent, making getting your second dose even more important now the Delta variant is the UK’s dominant strain.
