Monday onward, millions of people will for the first time be invited to get their spring booster via the NHS app, with others being sent text messages and letters asking them to book an appointment from 5 April.
Those eligible for the vaccine top-up
include people aged 75 and over, and anyone aged five and over who is immune
suppressed.
Around 5 million people are to be invited for a coronavirus booster jab as case levels reach their highest since the start of the year.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimates, using the latest available figures, that 1.7 million people in private households in the UK are likely to have had Covid-19 in the week to 13 March.
Hospital admissions have also been on the rise, as the ONS published its last ever survey on the virus, prompting dismay among virologists at the “incomprehensible” decision to scrap the service. They warned that it could leave the UK “fighting blind” against Covid.
Steve Russell, the NHS director of vaccinations and screening, said: “As a society, we are learning to live with Covid but, for many, it is still a virus that can cause serious illness and hospitalisation, and so it is still important that those at greatest risk come forward and boost their protection in the coming weeks.
“There are still around 8,000 people in hospital with Covid, according to the latest data, and the NHS has now treated more than a million Covid inpatients since the pandemic began.
“So if you are over 75 or you have
a weakened immune system, please come forward as soon as possible to book a
Covid vaccine this spring, so you can enjoy summer with peace of mind.”
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