Over 30s able to book Covid booster jab from next week
People aged 30 and over in England will be invited to book a Covid booster jab from Monday.
It follows scientists’ warnings that the country should prepare for a wave of infections from the new coronavirus variant Omicron in the new year.
According to NHS England, some 3.5m out of the 7.5m people aged 30 to 39 are eligible for a third vaccine dose next week.
Eligible adults can book their booster 61 days after their second jab, so they can get the third dose 91 days after their last vaccine.
Scientists have warned of skyrocketing cases over the next few months if additional measures are not introduced.
Omicron variant could lead to 25,000 to 75,000 deaths by the end of April, depending on how well vaccines work against the virus, scientists from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) said.
There have been a total of 1,898 confirmed cases of the Omicron variant across the UK, according to fresh statistics published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) on Saturday.
Within the latest set of 633 cases confirmed on Saturday, a further 618 confirmed cases were found in England, 11 in Scotland, two in Wales and two in Northern Ireland.
Health secretary Sajid Javid urged people in their thirties to book their jab for “vita; protection ahead of Christmas.”
More than 22m people in the UK have already received their third dose, Javid said.
He added: “This is our national mission – the most recent data shows boosters are the essential defence against Omicron and we are doing everything in our power to get jabs into arms as quickly as possible.
“We are now expanding the offer to over-30s, so please come forward as quickly as possible to get boosted and help our country get ahead in this race with the variant.”