More than one million people aged 80 or over have been invited to book a coronavirus jab at a Vaccination Centre, as the NHS accelerates the immunisation programme, the biggest in health service history.
The NHS sent out 641,000 invitations last week and another 380,000 are landing on doormats this weekend.
Another half a million will go out this week.
Vaccination centres offer a convenient option for those who do not want to wait to be contacted by GPs or hospitals.
People aged 80 or over living up to a 45-minute drive from a vaccination centre are being written to with the option of choosing to arrange a vaccination there or at a pharmacy site through the new national booking service.
Alternatively people can choose to wait to be contacted shortly by their local GP-led vaccination service.
Appointments are staggered to allow for social distancing and people who do book one are being asked not to turn up early to avoid creating queues.
Ruth May, chief nursing officer for England, said:”The NHS vaccination programme, the biggest in NHS history, is off to a strong start with more than three million people receiving the life-saving jab, including more than a third of those aged 80 or over.
“Having worked alongside clinicians at my local hospital I know how tough it is for our staff treating an increasing number of seriously ill people with Covid-19 – so I cannot stress enough how important it is that everyone plays their part by practicing social distancing and following the national guidance.”
