Over-40s could be offered Covid jab before Easter as vaccine rollout to double pace this week

BRITS in their 40s could be offered a Covid jab before Easter with the UK’s vaccine rollout to double its pace this week.

More than 24 million people have received the first dose of a Covid jab, with another 512,108 given out on Saturday alone.

Now the deputy head of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation has said most Brits over the age of 50 will be vaccinated “in the next few week”, paving the way for the over 40s to receive their jab next month.

Professor Anthony Harnden told BBC Breakfast that he is “very optimistic” about the roll-out’s progress.

He hailed the programme as “tremendously successful” adding that people in their 40s will be offered vaccines “before Easter”.

He said: “In primary care, we’re still vaccinating cohort six — all with underlying illness — and some of seven. 

“But, throughout the country, we’re going down to cohort nine,” he told BBC Breakfast.

“Most people over the age of 50 will be vaccinated really within the next few weeks so it is tremendously successful.

“Those first nine priority groups included 99 per cent of all hospitalisations and deaths, certainly in wave one of the pandemic, so we’re feeling very optimistic.

“We’re seeing a very sharp reduction in the deaths and hospitalisations throughout the country.”

It comes as jab rates are expected to double this week after a significant boost in supplies of the Pfizer-BioNTech and the Oxford-Astrazeneca vaccines.

The AstraZeneca Covid vaccine has recently come under fire over fatal blood clot fears with several European countries temporarily suspending the use of the jabs.

There were reports of serious clotting in adults in Norway which left four people in hospital.

But so far there is no evidence the events were caused by the vaccine, and countries have halted vaccine rollouts as a precaution.

And Prof Harnden has said that the risk of not having the jab “far outweighs the risks” of a blood clot.

He said: “We have given 11 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to date and there’s no demonstrable difference between the blood clots in those that have been vaccinated from those in the general population.

“We have to remember that there are 3,000 blood clots a month on average in the general population.

“And because we’re immunising so many people, we are bound to see blood clots at the same time as the vaccination, and that’s not because they are due to the vaccination. That’s because they occur naturally in the population.

“One ought to also remember that Covid causes blood clots. So, the risks of not having the Covid vaccination far outweigh the risks from the vaccinations.”

He added:  “We will keep monitoring this and if there are any safety signals that we are concerned about, we would let the public know straight away.”

It comes as Premier League aces are to be enlisted to encourage Brits under 30 to get the Covid jab.

Clubs have been asked to use the “star power” at their disposal to help roll out the vaccine.

An Office for National Statistics poll revealed one in six people aged between 16 and 29 claim they may not get the jab.

Experts say the age group is more likely to see Covid as no threat to them.