All over 18s to be offered Covid vaccines by the end of THIS WEEK, says NHS boss
ALL over 18s will be offered a Covid vaccine by the end of this week, an NHS chief said today.
It will be the last group of adults invited to get their jab, less than seven months after the programme started.
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Speaking at the NHS Confed Virtual Conference, Sir Simon Stevens said the health service was continuing its record-breaking jab blitz.
The NHS supremo said all adults will be able to book their first Covid vaccine within days.
He said: "We're making great strides also in extending the offer to all adults.
"People aged 23 and 24 are now able to book through the National booking service, and I expect that by the end of this week, we'll be able to open up the national booking service to all adults aged 18 and above."
Downing Street has confirmed over-18s will be offered their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine at the end of this week.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman told a Westminster briefing: "From the end of this week, over-18s will be able to get their jab."
It comes after Boris Johnson announced yesterday that those aged 23 could book their jab from June 15.
He has pledged for all adults to be offered their first dose by July 19 - the new date England is set to come out of lockdown.
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The NHS is ramping up the jab programme amid spread of the new Delta (Indian) variant, which has forced ministers to hold off lifting lockdown on June 21.
Sir Simon told the NHS Confederation annual conference that the NHS would "finish the job" of the Covid-19 vaccination programme to the "greatest extent possible" over the next four weeks.
He said: "It is now very important that we use the next four weeks to finish the job to the greatest extent possible for the Covid vaccination programme, which has been a historic signature achievement in terms of the effectiveness of delivering by the NHS - over 60 million doses now administered.
"By July 19 we aim to have offered perhaps two thirds of adults across the country double jabs.
"Of course, vaccine supply continues to be constrained, so we're pacing ourselves at precisely the rate of which we're getting that extra vaccine supply between now and July 19."
Figures show 79 per cent of Brits have already had their first dose, and more than half had two.
But it's feared the proportion is not enough to hold back a third wave that will put pressure on the NHS.
What about kids?
It's not yet clear if those under 18 years old will be able to get a Covid vaccine.
Officials are currently deciding whether to include 12 to 17 years olds in the vaccine campaign, after the medicine regulator the MHRA approved the Pfizer jab in those aged 12 to 15.
The jab has already been given the green light for those aged 16 and over.
It comes down to the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) to advise on whether this age group will be jabbed.
Professor Chris Whitty said officials are looking into whether youngsters should get the vaccination - but the "big priority" is getting all over-18s inoculated first.
"There are two possible reasons you would want to vaccinate children, potentially, but with caution," Prof Whitty, England's chief medical officer, told the Downing Street press briefing yesterday.
"The first would be those groups who actually are at high risk of Covid, and I think the JCVI [Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation] will be putting forward advice on this about which of the groups they think are at particularly high risk.
"Those children, specifically, should be vaccinated to reduce the risk of them having serious disease and – in a very, very small number of cases, but it does happen, mortality.
"But the wider question is around also the effect on children's education.
"Are the multiple disruptions Covid might have going to have a very negative impact on their life chances, including the effect it will have on long-term risk of physical and mental ill health?
"This is going to be a decision that’ll have to be based on the data we have available.
"But at the moment the big priority, as the Prime Minister said, is getting through all the adults down to 18, making sure they’re vaccinated and then double-vaccinated."
Meanwhile, Sir Simon said he has asked the NHS to "gear up" for future Covid-19 treatments which are expected to come online over the next few months.
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These "new category" of drugs would be given "within three days from date of infection" to treat coronavirus and "prevent severe illness and death".
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But the logistics of getting these drugs to people as quickly as people still needs to be honed.
Sir Simon said "neutralising monoclonal antibodies" are "potentially going to become available to us within the next several months".