DOWN & THIRTY
Brits in their 30s set to be offered Covid vaccine by early May as rollout’s next phase starts
BRITS in their 30s are set to be offered Covid jabs by early May — as the rollout’s next phase starts today.
People aged 44 will be formally invited this morning to get vaccinated — with a new TV ad campaign also encouraging uptake among young people.
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Insiders say it is likely all over-40s will get an invite by the end of this week.
It was also possible that those in their 30s will get one as soon as next week — depending on supplies.
Around half a million 44-year-olds will get a text saying they can get a jab from this morning.
It comes after more than two-thirds of people aged 45 to 49 got a first dose.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Now that 95 per cent of all over-50s have had their first jab, and more than two-thirds of those aged 45-49, we are opening up vaccinations to 44-year-olds.
“The biggest vaccination programme in NHS history has delivered 45.5 million doses so far across the UK, and we are on track to offer a jab to all adults by the end of July.
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“I encourage everyone who is 44 to book an appointment to get the jab.
“It will protect you and your loved ones, and help put this pandemic behind us.”
Health officials are also rolling out a major new ad campaign to encourage younger Brits to get their injections as soon as possible.
The “every vaccination gives us hope” campaign will hit telly screens tonight — the first time the rollout will have been advertised on TV.
It will showcase people who have already had the jab — and highlight the heroics of volunteers.
The 60-second advert, which will make its debut during Emmerdale on ITV at 7.15pm, features a version of Dinah Washington’s What a Difference a Day Makes.
'REMARKABLE AND POIGNANT'
Thor Porter, 32, a drummer and graphic designer from Salisbury, appears in it.
He said: “My mother was an NHS nurse her whole life and then became a school nurse, carrying out mass vaccinations across schools, and I know that she would be fully behind this rollout if she were here today.
"That’s why I was keen to get my vaccine.
“If we all want to be with our loved ones again then we need to do our bit. We have stayed inside for long enough.”
Images will also be beamed on to the screens of Piccadilly Circus, while the Royal Mail will apply a special postmark to promote the jab.
Mr Hancock said: “This campaign is a remarkable and poignant reminder of everything we’ve been through as a country and everything we have to look forward to — as well as the tireless efforts of our volunteers, NHS heroes and the British people.
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“Every vaccination gives us hope and I urge everyone to take up the offer of a vaccine when it comes, as we continue on the path back to normality.”
Jabs Minister Nadhim Zahawi added: “Our vaccination programme has so far saved thousands of lives, protecting our loved ones and bringing down infection rates to a point where we can see normality on the horizon.
“This new campaign showcases the fantastic work of health and care staff and volunteers across the country who have delivered this programme, as well as a handful of the millions who have received their vaccine so far.
“It’s vital as many people as possible book their vaccine when given the opportunity so we can continue to reduce the impact of this awful virus on our lives, and I urge everyone to play their part.”
Since the rollout began in December, more than 28 million people have been vaccinated with a first dose in England — 63.8 per cent of the total adult population.
The rollout has also sped up among some ethnic minorities.
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The NHS revealed uptake among people from a Pakistani background is more than four times higher than it was in February.
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There has also been a fivefold rise in vaccinations for people from a Bangladeshi background.
NHS England chief executive Sir Simon Stevens said: “When the time comes, and you get that text, book an appointment to get your vaccine — it is the best protection you and your loved ones will receive from this deadly virus.”
The Sun says
THERE may have been only 8,000 spectators at yesterday’s League Cup final but how wonderful to hear cheers and chants echo around Wembley again.
The biggest crowd at a UK event since the pandemic began kicks off a great summer of sport, with London also the centre of the delayed Euros tournament.
With Covid vaccines being rolled out to 44-year-olds from today, the rest of over-40s set to be offered their jab by Friday and thirtysomethings to follow as early as next week, a sense of normality is slowly creeping back.
One in three hospitals now reports not having a single Covid patient in intensive care. New daily cases have halved in the past month.
And yet the threat of continuing social distancing measures, vaccine passports and mask rules is kept dangling over us, even beyond the Prime Minister’s glacially paced lockdown-easing schedule, which is set to conclude in June.
We salute the 22 scientists who penned an open letter to the Government that it is “more than time for citizens to take back control of their own lives”.
The nation is starting to get its smile back again but if that smile is still covered by a mask, what’s the point?
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